


Danganronpa: South Storm at Sea

by MikeGonzo1220



Category: Dangan Ronpa - All Media Types, South Park
Genre: Crossover, Other
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-14
Updated: 2018-12-20
Packaged: 2019-08-23 20:39:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 32
Words: 73,103
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16626044
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MikeGonzo1220/pseuds/MikeGonzo1220
Summary: Some of South Park's young inhabitants are about to start a new school aboard a cruise ship. The only problem is that they didn't know that before they were taken. Step into the shoes of the New Kid as he and some of South Parks favorite characters, now high schoolers, as they are forced into a horrific killing game by the evil Monokuma. A story of love, betrayal, and heartbreak





	1. Chapter 1: Orientation of Death

**Author's Note:**

> Author Intro: Hello readers of the world. Welcome to Danganronpa South Storm at Sea. Before I begin the story their are just a few pieces of info I want you all to know.
> 
> 1\. The story takes place from a first person point of view. The point of view belonging to the New Kid (AKA my OC)  
> 2\. The story is predetermined. Meaning the killers and the victims have already been decided. (I've had those planned since before I started)  
> 3\. The story uses a few canon and non-canon ships: Bunny, Creek, Style, as well as a blooming relationship that for the sake of this story I am calling Bunk.  
> 4\. The first chapter might only be posted now but I've already completed up to the beginning of Chapter 3 (the third murder case). I won't post the chapters that revolve around the third murder case until after I finish the class trial, but the other chapters for the first two murder cases will be posted in the coming days.  
> 5\. Please write reviews, this is my first story I've put on here so be gentle, but I do want feedback so please give me some if you would like, or don't it's up to you.
> 
> OK I've rambled enough, it's time to begin. I hope you all like it.

I came to in a cabin that looked like something you’d find on a cruise ship. Granted I don’t remember booking a cruise for myself; my family can’t exactly afford one that’s why we moved to South Park, Colorado in the first place. As I got my bearings I was able to confirm that I was indeed in a cabin on a cruise ship that was in the middle of the ocean. The balcony was nice enough except for the bulletproof glass that was covering the top and front of it. “A balcony jail cell, not the weirdest thing I’ve seen but definitely in the top ten” I said to myself. Oh, right I haven’t introduced myself, I’m the protagonist of this story nice to meet you. As I walked back in to my cabin I took a more detailed look around, in it was a closet filled with the exact same outfit as the one I was wearing, a TV with what looked like the kind of speakers you’d find at a nightclub and a bathroom that’s smaller than the ones you find on airplanes, it definitely can’t fit more than one person at a time. 

Still dumbfounded as to how I ended up here in the first place, I heard a knock at my door, suspicious of who or what was waiting on the other side I looked through the peephole to see a boy my age who had blonde hair and a teal shirt on with blueish green jeans.  
He knocked again, “is anyone in there” the voice said. There was a hint of fear in his tone of voice so with great reluctance I opened the door. “Uh hello” he said even more nervous now than when he was talking to my door. “I’m Leo, Leo Stotch but everyone just calls me Butters.” 

“Nice to meet you” I replied “I’m Mike, Mike Mendoza.” 

“So, Mike let me ask you something” he said, still nervous but I could tell his guard had dropped a little. “Do you have an ultimate talent too?” 

In the world we live in today, high school level students that excel in a certain area, or have a talent that they're better at than anyone else are given the title of Ultimate. “Yeah, I almost forgot about it until you mentioned it actually, I’m the Ultimate Politician.” I said. 

“That’s so cool, way cooler than mine” Butters said looking down at the floor a look of depression in his eye. 

“Ah don’t be like that I’m sure your talent is just as good” I said reassuring him of his skill.  
“You think so? Aw geez no one has ever said that before” he replied excitedly. Damn you’d think I has just reassured him of his own self-worth and reason for living. “By the way do you know how we got here?” 

“Nope I’m just as in the dark as you are” I answered. 

“Well in that case, do you mind looking around with me I don’t want to go alone in case there’s a killer on board or something.” 

“Sounds good” I said smiling, “let’s go.” Closing my door behind me the two of us walked down a hallway passing by more cabin doors with last names on each of them. I read each of them to myself: Tucker, Tweak, Marsh, Testaburger, Donavan, the list went on for a while, sixteen names in total roughly the size of a high school history class. We got to the end of the hallway then turned the corner, there was a kid leaning against the railing looking down at the ground floor. We approached him reluctantly hoping that he wasn’t the killer Butters feared was on board. He turned around after sensing us behind him and removed his hood, revealing a darker shade of blonde compared to Butters but blonde nonetheless. 

“Hiya, I’m Butters and this is Mike” Butters began. 

“I’m Kenny, Kenny McCormick” the boy evidently named Kenny replied. 

“Do you have an ultimate talent as well?” I asked. 

“Yeah, the problem is I can’t remember what it is, guess I got knocked out harder than the rest of us.” 

Us? I know there were names on the doors so there were definitely others but we didn’t see anyone on the way here, could he have met the other passengers already? 

“I’m guessing you saw other students already” I said. 

“Nothing gets by you, yeah two kids a guy and a girl, I tried to talk to them but they seemed to suspicious of me to answer, rude as hell those two. By the way what’re your talents?”  
“Right I almost forgot, I’m the Ultimate Politician, he’s um well.” I realized I never asked Butters what his talent was.

“I’m the Ultimate Child Psychologist” Butters answered. At the very least I was right, his talent is just as good as mine, definitely need to get the story behind that one later. “We’re going to keep looking around, you wanna join us?” 

Kenny hesitated then nodded in agreement, then the three of headed in the direction that Kenny said those other two went. We turned the corner to see an elevator on one side and stairs leading down on the other, the ones leading up were blocked by bars. 

“Guess we got to go down” Butters said smiling awkwardly. We went down the stairs to see two girls standing at the bottom of the staircase. One with long black hair and another with blonde hair of the same length. 

“Hello ladies” Kenny said in a perverted voice. “My name is Kenny, what’s yours?” He took the black-haired girl’s hand, she smiled, and then proceeded to knee him in the balls. Continuing the smile, she squatted down, pat Kenny’s head and said, 

“I’m Wendy Testaburger, the Ultimate Hacker it’s nice to meet you.” 

“I apologize for my friend’s failed courting attempt” I said to Wendy. “My name is Mike Mendoza, Ultimate Politician; and this is” I stopped my sentence short when I turned my head to see Butters staring at the blonde girl. “Uh Butters you ok my dude?” 

Snapping out of his trance he said in an excited voice, “Don’t you know who that is?” I looked at him with a deadpan expression as I did not know who this girl was. “That’s Bebe Stevens, the Ultimate Fashionista!” Butters got all flustered and blushed so much his face turned red. 

Bebe smiled and giggled a little “it’s always nice to meet a fan what’s your name?” 

“I’m Butters and I'm the Ultimate Child Psychologist it’s so nice to meet you as well.” Butters shook Bebe’s hand with the biggest smile on his face. I’ve never seen anyone smile as hard as he did. 

“By the way ladies do either of you know where we are or what the hell is going on?” They looked at each other with the same look I got from Kenny. No point in them even answering they didn’t know anything either. 

“Nope all I know is that last night I went to bed in my room in South Park, Colorado and woke up here” Wendy answered. She didn’t realize she just gave us a massive clue. 

“Did you say South Park? My family just moved there.” “Wait you live in South Park Mike” Kenny asked and from the look on his face Butters was about to ask the same thing. “Don’t tell me, are we all from the same town?” 

“Looks like it” Bebe answered. Just then we heard two voices approach from behind us.  
“Ah geez Craig I’m scared what if we never get off this ship, it’s way too much pressure for me” the panicked voice said. 

“Relax Tweek we’ll be fine I’m here and I’ll keep you safe” the second voice said, he sounded much more indifferent to our situation. The two turned the corner to see the five of us staring at them. The shorter blonde boy hid behind the taller boy, he was wearing a blue hat and blue jacket and had a look on his face that just screamed, ugh more people, great.

“Craig who are these guys” the panicked voice asked. 

“How should I know” the blue hat boy answered. Based on their back and forth exchange I deduced that the tall one was Craig and the smaller one was Tweek.

I approached them slowly I needed to show them we were friendly. “Hey, my name is Mike how are you two doing?” 

“How are we doing” Tweek asked. “We’re trapped on a cruise ship in the middle of the ocean with people we’ve never met before, how do you think we're doing!”  
“Tweek relax I got this” Craig said. He approached me and shook my hand,  
“I’m Craig and he’s my boyfriend Tweek nice to meet you.” 

“Likewise,” I said. Of the two of them it’s clear that Craig would be the easiest to deal with. “I’m guessing you guys have ultimate talents as well?” 

“Yeah” Craig said. “I’m the Ultimate Astronaut and he’s the Ultimate Barista, what about you guys.” 

“Well I'm the Ultimate Politician, the boy in the teal shirt is the Ultimate Child Psychologist, the girl with the pink hat is the Ultimate Hacker, and the blonde is the Ultimate Fashionista.” I turned around and began pointing at each of them from left to right. “Kenny, Butters, Wendy, and Bebe.”  
“Sounds easy enough” Craig said. “Let me ask you, do you have any memories besides going to bed last night and your families?” 

Now that he mentioned it, I don’t and if I didn't it must be the same; the only thing I do remember is the fact that I’m just as gay as these two are. “Nope, nothing except for the fact that I am gay as well.”

“You too huh” Craig said. “It’s the same for me and Tweek we remember our families, and falling asleep, and the fact that we’re a couple.”

“So, everyone probably has one fact they remember about themselves then.” I turned back to the others and asked them if they remembered anything. Each of them also had one fact they remembered. Wendy was the student council President, Bebe played the flute, and it turns out Butters and Kenny were also gay. Well Kenny was Bi but you get the idea. 

“Great it’s one giant sausage fest here” Craig said joking at the fact that there are four gays on board. “Ten bucks every guy we find likes dick.” 

“Heh I doubt we’ll be that lucky” I replied. So far, we’ve found four other students bringing our headcount to seven. Based on the number of doors I counted, there are nine more students out there. Just then a voice appeared over a loudspeaker.

“Attention all students please report to the auditorium on the first floor for orientation.” We all looked at each other and agreed that we should keep our guard up as we go to the auditorium. When we arrived, we saw nine others waiting there, the nine we couldn't find. One of them approached wearing a green hat and an orange jacket like Kenny’s.

“So here are the other seven” he said. “We were looking for you guys but we couldn't find you until now.” 

“Likewise,” I replied. 

“Save the introductions for after orientation my students and look alive,” the voice from the loudspeaker said, his voice appeared to be coming from the podium on the stage. Suddenly a bear appeared, half black half white with a red eye on the black side. “Hello my students and welcome to Hope’s Peak Collegiate Cruise Line” the voice said. “I am Monokuma and I will be your principal.” 

We all had the same look in our eyes, that this was some kind of prank, little did we know that it was no joke and we were about to enter a true hell. “Now then this school is unlike anything you’ve ever seen before and there are two reasons for this.” “One because it’s on a boat, and two and most importantly you won’t be learning anything while your here.” 

“Then what exactly will we be doing” Craig asked his arms crossed. Monokuma laughed sinisterly, “you’ll be playing a killing game.” All of us were shocked at the sentence the bear just spoke.  
“A killing game” Tweek asked his voice filled with terror. 

“That’s right and here’s how it works.” “In order to escape this ship alive, you must graduate and in order to do that you need to kill one of your classmates and survive a class trial.” 

“What the hell is a class trial” the kid in the green hat asked. “Basically, it’s a murder mystery deal, after each murder you'll collect evidence then you’ll debate each other with goal of finding the killer.” “Get it right and the killer will be punished, get it wrong and everyone else will be punished and the killer will graduate.” 

Bebe asked in a shaken voice, “and what exactly are these punishments?” 

“Ah well it’s just a euphemism for executions no big deal.” We all gasped in shock, “hold on am I hearing you right, if someone kills another person we either have to figure out who it is or die trying and even if we do they get killed” I asked.

“Exactly right” the bear replied. “Now then I know you all haven’t met yet so I'll give you guys time to introduce yourselves to each other and start picking out potential targets.” “But at the stroke of midnight the game will begin, good luck I’ll see you all later, hopefully.” 

After saying that the bear disappeared. We were all shaken to the core but we decided it would be best to go to the cafeteria and discuss our situation, we all knew one thing though we’ve entered a hell that no one deserves.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Surviving Students: 16


	2. Chapter 2: Blood is spilled, the beginning of despair

The sixteen of us arrived at the cafeteria still shaken at the fact that we’ve been forced into a killing game against one another. I knew I had to unite everyone before they started targeting each other. First, I had to learn the identities of the other ten students we didn’t meet before Monokuma dropped that bombshell. After we all sat down, I began the conversation. 

“Alright, so first things first I think everyone should go around the room and introduce themselves if we're going to be stuck here for a while we should at least try to be friends.” One boy who sat across from me scoffed at my proposal, he wore a red jacket and was a little on the heavy side.  
“Why to bother one of us will just try to kill to escape sooner or later, why become friends when we need to kill to survive.” 

Wendy fired back at him at that statement, “because we need to work together, I’m sure if we do we will find an escape and survive.” It’s good to see at least one person agreed with me and as I looked around the room that one turned into fifteen. Everyone except the heavyset kid was alright with sharing and so we began. 

“I’ll start,” I said, “my name is Michael Mendoza, but everyone just calls me Mike, and I’m the Ultimate Politician.” 

“How’d you get that title” the boy with the green hat who approached me back in the auditorium asked. It was strange when he asked that memory somehow returned to me and I remembered the reason.  
“Before my family was forced to move I was the youngest person ever elected to my state’s Senate.” “Impressive” he responded. 

“Mike you remembered another fact about yourself,” Butters said in excitement.  
“You’re right” I replied, “if we all ask each other that question as we go around we might gain another memory.” 

“I’ll go next,” Butters said. “My name is Leo Stotch but everyone calls me Butters, and I’m the Ultimate Child Psychologist.” 

“How’d you get that title,” Wendy asked. “I remember now” he answered, and as he did I saw the light leave his eyes and his smile turn to a frown. 

“It’s uh a long story that I really don’t like to talk about.” I saw his eyes water I began to worry that pushing him farther might make things more difficult.

“You can tell us whenever you're ready it doesn't have to be now,” I said trying to save him from falling apart. He sniffled as he looked at me “thanks, Mike.” 

We continued to go around the table as the six I met introduced themselves. As Craig finished his turn, each of them began telling us the story of the way they gained their titles. Wendy hacked a terror cell and released all their info on the internet, Bebe’s designs won the best design at her very first fashion show, Kenny unfortunately still couldn’t remember anything and I could tell when he told the others that suspicion fell on him instantly. 

Tweek’s homemade coffee recipe was bought by major coffee chains around the globe and Craig was the youngest person ever to do repairs and experiments on the international space station. Next up was the boy in the green hat. 

“My name is Kyle, Kyle Broflowski and I’m the Ultimate Rabbi,” he said.  
“How’d you get that title,” Craig asked. “I was the youngest to ever be given the title of Rabbi in the history of Judaism.” 

“That’s quite an achievement,” I said in response. He nodded in gratitude. 

Looking to his left there was a boy in a blue hat and red hat, “my name is Stan Marsh and I’m the Ultimate Veterinarian.” “I was the youngest person to earn a medical degree with a specialization in animal care. 

Next to him was a girl in all black, clearly goth, she had a pack of cigarettes in her hand. “Henrietta Biggle, Ultimate Satanist. I got that title when the police raided and arrested the satanic cult I created, I was given that title because the government saw me as a leader and wanted me to use my leadership skills for the country, not that I agreed, damn conformists.” 

Next to him was the boy who didn’t care for this activity, “Eric Cartman, Ultimate NEET.”  
“What does NEET stand for” Butters asked. 

“You stupid or something,” he asked clearly annoyed at the question. “It means not in education, employment, or training.” “Don’t ask how I got it because I ain’t none of your business.” He’s a salty one, I’ll have to keep my guard up around him.

“Next,” I said. Sitting next to him was a girl in a green jacket, considering our situation she seemed perkier then she should have. 

“I’m Heidi Turner, and I’m the Ultimate Gardener.” 

“I can only guess how you got that one,” Eric asked clearly not caring for the answer. 

“I grew the biggest garden in the world, it fed a third world country for a year. I like helping people and I’ve always had a green thumb, that’s how I got my title.” She completely ignored Eric which he didn’t seem to like. There were three boys and one girl left to go. 

“I’m Token, Token Black, and I’m the Ultimate Heir, my family is well known, we own the marketing firm Black enterprises.” 

“Oh, I know you guys,” Bebe said. “You used one of my designs in your promotional ads a while back.” 

“Sounds about right” he replied feeling rather proud of himself. 

The boy in a red shirt began next, “I’m Clyde Donavan and I’m the Ultimate Athlete.” 

“How’d you win that title,” Craig asked in a joking manner, “were you the youngest Olympic Athlete or something?” 

“Actually yes” Clyde replied. His reply caught Craig off guard and Tweek chuckled at his reaction. Next was the girl sitting next to him “Nichole Daniels, I’m the ultimate author.” “How’d you get that title,” Wendy asked. “I’ve had more best sellers in a shorter time span than any other author.”  
Wendy was impressed by her answer the look of amazement on her eyes was truly one of admiration. 

“Last but not least,” I said to the boy sitting next to me, he had crutches on probably due to some disability. “I’m Jimmy Valmer, and I’m the Ultimate Comedian” he stuttered. “I’ve had more sold out comedy shows than any other comedian and I’m only eighteen.” 

“Congrats,” I said to him. “Why thank you.” The introductions were over and the smiles that everyone had left the room as we all began to realize the next discussion topic.  
“So are we going to talk about the giant black and white bear in the room,” Jimmy asked trying to lighten the mood. 

“We have to,” I said. “The fact of the matter is this, the bear wants us to kill each other, but we aren't going to give him what he wants.” 

“Then how do you expect us to survive, are we supposed to spend the rest of our lives on this ship,” Kyle asked.

“I checked the Kitchen earlier and theirs a food stock that could feed us for at least a decade” Nichole answered. “We have the basic necessities.” 

“But what about our families,” Tweek asked a concerned tone in his voice. “We can’t forget that we all have people waiting for us back home!” 

“Coffee head is right ya know,” a familiar and unwelcome voice said. Out of nowhere Monokuma appeared in a chair that was not there a few moments ago sitting right in between Eric and Henrietta. 

“You can pretend that all ya need to do is live out your days peacefully but the fact of the matter is people have killed to see their families again and that’s a good enough motive as any for you to kill too.” 

“Get lost Monokuma crawl back to whatever hole you came from,” I said standing up. 

“Whatever ya say but just so you know I’ve left something in your rooms for you all, it’ll give you all the motive you need to kill.” “Also, it is now 10pm, nighttime hours start now, while you’re not required to stay in your rooms you can’t sleep anywhere else so get some rest now you want to be alert and on guard from this point on. Later!” 

With that, he disappeared and we all looked at each other. “Let’s all make an agreement,” I said. “No one leaves their rooms at night time, if we agree to that then no one will have to fear an attack and can sleep soundly.” “Or at least as soundly as one could sleep in these circumstances.” 

They all agreed and we adjourned to our rooms for the evening, the cabin doors each had a fingerprint scanner so there’s no concern about someone breaking in at least. For now, I need to sleep because come tomorrow the game will be on and I need to make sure no blood is spilled. 

The next day I awoke to find Monokuma’s “gift” that he claimed to have left for each of us last night. I was so exhausted after all the action I completely forgot about it. “Might as well see what he left me.” When I turned on the video it said, Mike Mendoza’s motive video. So, he’s giving us a reason to kill. The screen then said, “who's the most important person in your life?” After that, it was just a black screen. I suppose it did make some sense, between the drugging of my food, and all the dangerous substances they put into my body, my parents were barely around for me anyway, and with no siblings to speak of I was always on my own. I put down the video and saw something else, it was a student tablet that could only be unlocked by the fingerprint of the owner. I unlocked it to see a few tabs, “school rules, map, evidence app, and messenger.” I opened the messenger app and the screen showed the others and who of them was online. Big surprise no one was on they probably haven’t checked it out yet. 

I freshened up and went to the cafeteria. We all agreed to eat together every day so at the very least we can discuss the motive videos. When I got there, I saw Heidi and Tweek cooking and making coffee. With Heidi being a gardener and Tweek a barista, they were our designated chefs.  
“Good morning,” I said. They replied “good morning” they both had smiles on my face that made me believe they probably didn't see their motive videos yet. 

We agreed to eat at 8:30 every morning since Monokuma woke us up at 8. As 8:30 rolled around, Kyle, Stan, Token, Butters and Wendy walked in said their good mornings and took their seats, the same ones they had yesterday, there is something to be said for consistency. Around 8:45 Clyde, Kenny, and Nichole walked in a little late but not too late. Finally, around 9, the stragglers arrived, Craig, Eric, Henrietta, and Jimmy. With that fifteen of us had arrived. 

“Hang on has anyone seen Bebe yet today,” Wendy asked. Now that she mentioned it Bebe was noticeably absent. 

“Oh uh, she passed by early this morning she said she was gonna check out the library” Tweek answered. 

“Early this morning,” I asked, “how long have you and Heidi been up?” 

“Two hours, we wanted to prep breakfast for you all.” I could tell the sentiment was appreciated around the room. 

“She knew breakfast was at 8:30 right” Nichole asked.  
“I reminded her when she walked by and she nodded and smiled” Heidi answered.  
“Something’s wrong I can feel it,” Wendy said. “I’m going to go look for her.”  
“You shouldn’t go alone,” I said. “Butters, Kenny, you guys come with me and Wendy everyone else stays here, more searchers just means more chaos.” With that, the four of us left the room walked down the staircase and made our way to the library. I went to open the door when I caught a glance at Wendy she was terrified. 

“Listen, Wendy, we may not like what we find in there are you sure you want to continue?”  
“I’m not so weak as to back down when my friend is in danger.” With that I opened the door, the library was big two stories of books. 

“Will cover more ground if we split up,” I said. “Butters, Wendy you search down here, Kenny you’re with me.” 

We went up the stairs as the two began to search the ground floor. It didn’t take me that long to find who we were looking for, I’ll never forget what I felt at that moment.

“Uh, guys,” I said panic rising in my voice. “I found her.” The other three ran over to me and had the same look of terror in their eyes. What we saw was evil, cruel, and despair-inducing. We saw Bebe Stevens, the Ultimate Fashionista stabbed in the back.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Surviving Students: 15


	3. Chapter 3: Investigation 1 Begins: The Man Shrouded in Mystery

Wendy screamed and fell to the floor and Butters started crying. Just then Monokuma came over the loudspeaker. 

“A body has been discovered, everyone please report to the second floor of the library.” Within moments everyone else arrived the look of shock on their faces mimicked my own. All except Eric who seemed indifferent as usual. 

“One day, we’ve been here and someone’s killed already,” Eric said. “I told you all this would happen sooner or later.”  
Wendy stood up and turned around, there was a look of pure rage in her eyes. 

“Who, who did it” she screamed. “Which one of you bastards did it?!” 

“Hold on a second their girlfriend, will get there later.” Monokuma had arrived and as usual, began toying with our now heightened emotions. “First things first, you all have to investigate.” “Collect evidence here and in Bebe’s room and anywhere else you think might have evidence.” “Then in two hours we will begin the class trial, make no mistake the killer is one of you and someone won’t be leaving the trial chamber alive.” 

With that, he handed me what he called the Monokuma file. “That’s the first piece of evidence, after every murder I’ll give each of you a copy of the Monokuma file, another digital copy is on your student tablets.” “On it, you’ll find some information to get you started, and the info may vary from case to case.” “Welp I’m done I’ll see ya in two hours.” 

With that, he left and Wendy began to cry. There was no way she could help with the investigation her judgment was clouded and since all the evidence we find is automatically downloaded to our evidence app she wouldn't have to worry. 

“Alright here’s the plan,” I said. “Butters, take Wendy back to her room and help her calm down.” “Clyde, take Token, Tweek, Craig, and Henrietta and search Bebe’s room it’ll probably be unlocked since Monokuma said to search it.” “Kyle, Stan, and I will search here, Nichole, and Heidi will search the kitchen, and Kenny and Eric take the lounge next door.” “Butters when Wendy is calmed down bring her back to us if she doesn't calm down before the trial bring her straight there.” 

With the plan in place, everyone dispersed to their separate jobs. I began to look around and check the body. “In investigations like this there’s always the easy evidence to find and the hard evidence to find,” I said to them. 

“How do you know all this stuff,” Kyle asked. 

“Between the cop shows, I watch and the criminal justice courses I took back at my old school I’ve picked up a thing or two.” Another memory just revealed, but first things first, Bebe’s case takes priority. The first thing added to the list was the blood splatter on the walls of the bookshelf and the knife in Bebe’s back. After checking the body, I noticed bruising on her hands which indicated a struggle. 

“Whoever killed her didn't have an easy time, she definitely put up a fight.”  
“Hey, Mike theirs some blood on this handrail,” Stan said. “I found a brown string or maybe a strand of hair and some more blood on the stairs,” Kyle said confused by his discovery.  
“Log them into the evidence app,” I said to them doing the same for the blood and knife. We also found a book under Bebe’s body the cover had blood all over but the inside was surprisingly clean, except for one page which had a blood print next to the title chapter. 

“The one shrouded in mystery,” I thought aloud.  
“What did you find” Stan asked. 

“It could be nothing but this book was under Bebe” I answered. “Either she was reading this chapter or she’s trying to tell us something.” “The one shrouded in mystery, by definition at the moment that could mean any of us.” “Regardless I’ve got what I need let’s regroup with the others.” 

As we left the library I rechecked the evidence app, I noticed that Heidi logged a knife missing from the kitchen. I also got messages from Clyde and Butters. All they found in her room was her motive video and her tablet, not much to go on. Thankfully Wendy has calmed down and is ready for the trial thanks to Butters. The investigation into the game room was evidently unsuccessful as Eric and Kenny returned with nothing. 

Tweek and Heidi also told me that they saw Bebe heading to the library this morning and that Tweek noticed two people acting “off” as he put it when they arrived at breakfast. Before long the trial time arrived, Monokuma came over the loudspeaker.  
“Alright everyone it’s time to solve this case or die trying, everyone report to the red elevator at the far end of the first floor near the auditorium.” 

It was hard to miss a giant red tube that had two buttons on the inside. We all piled in each of us a look of suspicion on our faces. One of us in this elevator is a killer and we need to figure out who or we will all die. Something about that book Bebe had is still bothering me, the one shrouded in mystery what could it mean. The elevator stopped, the door opened and we got a first and hopefully the last glance at the trial chamber. It was at the top of the ships tallest tower, windows surrounding it we could see the ocean and the sky perfectly if it wasn’t for the fact that we were about to fight for our lives it would be a lovely sight to admire. 

Shutters started to descend on the windows sealing the view we had just admired briefly. We all looked at Monokuma his smile as cruel as ever. Suddenly smoke appeared on the ground and the floor opened, what emerged was sixteen podiums each of them had one of our respective last names, and one of them, in particular, had Bebe’s face with an X over it. “Why the portrait,” I asked. “Why not, just because she’s dead doesn't mean she shouldn't be here in spirit” Monokuma answered. Arguing with him on the matter would be meaningless instead we all began to find our podium and mentally prepare ourselves, the trial was about to begin and one or all of us might not leave this chamber alive.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Surviving Students: 15


	4. Chapter 4: The Trial of Family

After everyone took their places I took a quick look around to see who was where. To my left was Butters and my right was Henrietta. Going from left to right it was me, Butters, Stan, Wendy, Kyle, Heidi, …Bebe, Eric, Kenny, Craig, Clyde, Tweek, Token, Nichole, Jimmy and then Henrietta bringing up the end. Behind Kenny was Monokuma sitting in a chair on top a platform. He looked down at us, probably trying to symbolize some sort of god complex. 

“Now then let’s begin with a basic explanation of the class trial, during the trial you’ll present your arguments on the case, and vote for whodunit, vote correctly and only the blackened will be punished, but if you pick the wrong person, I’ll punish everyone besides the blackened and that person will get to graduate” Monokuma explained. “Alright now let the class trial begin!” 

All of us looked around confused, “so how does this debate thing even work” Clyde said confused. 

Everyone had the same look of confusion on their faces, until Butters spoke up, 

“Hey Mike you’ve debated before, right?” 

“In a governmental setting yes” I answered. “But never like this.” 

“Either way you’re the only one of us with experience,” Nichole said. “You should probably lead this since you know the basics.” 

“Alright,” I said feeling the pressure of suddenly being named the trial leader. “How about we begin by going over the basic facts of the case, sound good?” 

“Yes let’s” Wendy agreed in a defeated tone. Bebe’s death was still weighing heavily on her I could tell. With that, we began discussing I had to be on the lookout for any mistakes or contradictions as well as true statements I could back up with the evidence we had. 

“The murder victim, in this case, was the Ultimate Fashionista, Bebe Stevens” Butters said. 

“Tell us something we don’t know stupid” Eric said rolling his eyes. 

“She was found in the library at approximately 9am,” Token said. 

“She had a knife in her back, from being stabbed to death, poor Bebe probably didn’t even see it coming,” Heidi said in a sad tone. Hold on something she said might not be true. 

“No, that’s wrong,” I said quickly. 

Heidi looked at me confused. “What do you mean the knife is what killed her right?” 

“Yes, but it isn’t right to say that she was ambushed.” “I found bruising on her hands which indicated signs of a struggle.” 

“Oh yeah,” Stan said. “Didn’t you say she went down swinging or something like that?” 

“She definitely put up a fight” I said. 

“So, we know there was a struggle, so whoever she fought with probably has some kind of cut or mark on them right” Nichole asked. 

“Possibly, however, given the small window of time in which Bebe could’ve been killed, I’d say the killer probably had preplanned for that exact scenario.” 

“Speaking of which, when exactly was Bebe killed” Token asked. “We have a one-and-a-half-hour window but that’s too big for an alibi to be questioned justifiably.” 

“Token’s right,” Stan said, “we need to determine an exact time of death or we won’t get anywhere in this trial.” 

“So, when was the last time anyone saw Bebe alive,” Clyde asked. 

“It was me,” Tweek said, “I saw Bebe heading for the library.” 

“What time was that at,” Kenny asked. “It had to be about 7:30” Tweek answered. That statement lines up with the evidence. “I agree,” I said. “Tweek’s statement is correct, right Heidi,” I said. “Yes, Tweek and I saw Bebe head for the library at 7:30.” 

“What were you two even doing up that early” Clyde asked. 

“We were making coffee and breakfast for everyone” she replied. 

“Yeah since we all agreed to eat at 8:30, Heidi and I wanted to make sure we had time to prepare everything,” Tweek said. 

“Aww, how sweet of you guys your like the parents that we don’t want,” Eric said mockingly. 

“Fuck off Eric,” Craig said as he gave him the finger. 

“Moving on we still don’t have a smaller window then what we started with,” Henrietta said. 

“In order to do that we need to determine everyone's arrival time to the cafeteria,” I said. 

“So, who arrived at the cafeteria first,” Jimmy asked. 

“It was Mike” Tweek answered. “He showed up right before the first group came in at 8:30.” 

“In that group, it was me, Kyle, Stan, Token, and Butters,” Wendy said.

“I came in around 8:45,” Kenny said. “Clyde and Nichole were with me.” 

“I came at 9 with Jimmy,” Craig said. “Henrietta was with us and so was Eric.” 

“That doesn’t exactly narrow down our timeline,” Henrietta said. 

“Tweek was anyone acting odd” Wendy asked. “You saw us all walk in right did anyone look a little unusual?” “Now that you mention it” Tweek started. “Ah man, I can’t remember ugh this is too much pressure.” 

Wait I asked that same question to Tweek and there were two people that he mentioned. “No that’s wrong,” I said. 

“Wait Tweek, remember what you said to me when we talked in the cafeteria after the investigation started.” 

Tweek looked at me eyes widened I could tell the trial stress was setting in. “Wait I wrote it down!” 

“Yeah when they came for breakfast, Butters and Eric looked like they were a little upset about something.” 

“Butters and Eric” Wendy said shocked. “Alright which one of you did it!” 

“Wendy calm down,” Tweek said. “This isn't helping.” 

“He’s right” I concurred, “yelling won’t get us anywhere.” “Tweek who looked more on edge?” 

“It was Eric” he answered. Eric’s podium automatically moved closer to the middle and turned from light blue to red. 

Eric scoffed at us brushing off the accusation. “You really think I’d kill that dumb broad,” he said, “why would I bother she wasn’t worth risking death over.” His words angered Wendy even more. 

“You better explain right now” she screamed. “Or will vote you the culprit and let Monokuma string you up.” 

“I didn’t kill her simple as that, you want an explanation and an alibi fine.” “I was in my room before I went to the cafeteria,” he said. “I didn’t leave at all the night before.” 

“What kind of alibi is that,” Wendy said. 

“Probably the same one we all have,” Kenny said. 

“Furthermore, Bebe was in a fight before her death and I have no marks on me.” As much as I didn't want to agree with him knowing what it could mean I had to do what was right for the group. “I agree,” I said. 

“There’s one way to prove your innocence Eric, take off your gloves.” 

“Oh, wow never had a gay guy ask me to strip before” he replied mockingly. “But fine here ya go.” Eric took off his gloves and showed us his hands, not a mark in sight. It doesn’t prove his innocence but it does lower his suspicion level. 

“Wait so if it wasn’t Eric” Wendy started. “Then that means.” She stopped short widened her eyes and stared at Butters. “You killed her didn’t you.” 

“No, I didn’t I swear,” he said panicking. 

“Your lying you killed her because she thought you were some weird fanboy and didn’t want to hang out with you” Wendy shouted. Her theory has too much emotion to be sound but Butters is hiding something. 

“Back off Wendy” Kenny said. “Your jumping to conclusions and making a fool of yourself, for Bebe’s sake please calm down a little, you won’t get her justice otherwise.” Wendy went to argue back but decided to stand down instead. “Butters does seem suspicious, however” Kenny continued. “He’s hiding something but I doubt he’s the actual culprit.” 

“I disagree,” Tweek said. “No one but him and Eric were acting strangely during breakfast and since it’s not Eric it has to be Butters.” 

“I’m with Tweek we have no other suspects” Craig agreed. I saw that Clyde, Token, Henrietta, Eric, and Wendy agreed. However, the other eight, myself, Stan, Kyle, Kenny, Butters, Nichole, Heidi, and Jimmy didn’t believe he was guilty. 

“Hold it right there” Monokuma interrupted. “It seems like your split down the middle, which means that it’s time for the Collegiate Cruise Line’s newest invention the morphenominal trial grounds.” 

“Morphenominal trial grounds,” Henrietta asked unamused. 

“The trial grounds are gonna morph? Seriously, I totally wanna see that” Eric said excitedly.

“Yep it’s time for a team debate,” Monokuma said. “Here’s how it works, since your split down the middle you team up with those on your side and argue your position on a question.” “Today’s question is, Is Butters the Culprit?” “On the no side, we have, Mike, Butters, Stan, Kyle, Heidi, Nichole, and Jimmy.” “On the yes side we have, Wendy, Eric, Craig, Clyde, Tweek, Token, and Henrietta.” “Hang on tight everyone things are gonna get bumpy.” 

Monokuma hit a button on his console and all our podiums starting moving upward and aligning themselves to everyone's respected sides it was time for the debate to begin. 

Wendy opened, “Butters killed Bebe I know it.” 

Butters replied, “I swear Wendy I didn’t kill her.” 

Tweek spoke next, “he was the only one acting odd at breakfast besides Eric he’s definitely hiding something.” 

Kenny rebutted, “hiding something and being the culprit are two different things.” 

Eric went next, “my name’s been cleared and Butters is the only other suspect.” 

Kyle shot back at him “your name hasn't been completely cleared yet fatass.” 

Craig took his turn, “if Butters is hiding something he should just speak up if he doesn’t want to be voted the blackened.” 

Heidi spoke for our side next, “What he’s hiding could be too painful for him to speak about.” 

Clyde went next “all of our lives are on the line here he better grow a pair or we’ll all get axed.” 

Stan took over, “not everyone can be as brave and outgoing as you are Clyde.” 

Token stepped in, “the evidence we have points to Butters.” 

This one was mine “not to sound pessimistic but that evidence is shaky at best.” 

Henrietta was their final salvo, “Unless you got another suspect in mind we need to vote for Butters.” 

Nichole finished the job, “we may find another suspect if we continue debating the case.” 

After debating as teams for a minute longer the yes side backed down and the podiums returned to normal. “If it wasn’t Butters then who was it,” Wendy asked. 

“Butters we don’t think you're the culprit anymore but if you know something you need to tell us,” Craig said. Butters looked down at the floor his eyes heavy with sadness. 

“Go ahead Butters,” Kenny said. “Whatever you have to say could help us survive.” 

“Hey, Kenny” Butters began. “If I’m wrong about this please don’t hate me.” 

“I won’t I promise, whatever it is,” Kenny said with a smile. 

“Alright everyone here I go,” Butters said. “I saw Kenny take the knife from the kitchen last night.” 

Everyone was in shock, Kenny didn’t say a word he just closed his eyes and smiled. 

“I think you better start at the beginning Butters,” I said. 

“Yeah ok,” Butters said reluctantly. “I went to go get a snack late last night.” “When I got to the cafeteria.” “I saw the light in the kitchen was already on.” “I peeked through the door and I saw Kenny hiding the knife in his jacket pocket.” 

The missing knife in the kitchen lines up with that theory. 

“I agree,” I said. “That story lines up with the evidence Heidi collected.” “The knife that disappeared from the kitchen and later reappeared in Bebe’s back.” Kenny still silent looked at the ceiling. 

“Kenny you need to explain now.” Kyle said.

“An explanation huh” Kenny started. “Very well, listen closely.” “I took the knife I will confess to that.” “But I took it for protection against possible threats.” “I didn’t want to die so I decided to keep it in my room to protect myself while I sleep.” Hold on he just slipped up big time. 

“No that’s wrong,” I said. “Kenny, if you decided to keep that knife for self-defense, then how did it end up in Bebe’s back at the crime scene?” 

“Someone must’ve broken into my room” Kenny answered. 

“Nope not possible,” Monokuma said. “Those locks are all fingerprint locks no one can get into anyone else’s room but their own unless they're invited in.” 

“I-I’m sorry Ken I shouldn't have said anything,” Butters said. 

“It’s ok Butters” Kenny replied, “I got this.” 

“I’m sorry Kenny but if you can’t explain it then we have to vote you the culprit,” I said but Butters interrupted me as I finished. 

“I won’t let you bully my friend!” “No Kenny isn’t the culprit I refuse to believe that.” 

“But the evidence points to him plus he confessed to taking the knife” I explained. 

“You're wrong,” he said, “and I’m gonna prove it.” “If Kenny was the culprit.” “How come there was no blood on his clothes.” “He couldn’t just walk back to his room with blood all over him.” “And he had no time to change before showing up to Breakfast regardless.” 

“There’s a simple explanation to why he had no blood on him” I answered. 

“Oh yeah well what is it” Butters shot back. “If he didn't run back to his room.” “And he didn’t bring a change of clothes.” 

I stopped him there. “I’ll cut your words,” I said. “He did change his clothes, right after the murder.” 

“How,” Butters asked. “More importantly where are the bloody ones?” 

“I believe that Kenny wore two layers of his outfit so when the first one got dirty then he could toss them and just walk away clean as a whistle,” I said. “Or so he thought. Theirs one piece of evidence that proves my theory true.” “The blood on the railing and staircase.” “Remember how I said early that Bebe put up a fight?” “Well, I believe that in that struggle Bebe slashed one of Kenny's hands with her nails and Kenny didn’t notice until after he left the scene.” 

“Furthermore, remember that brown string we found on the ground, I think I figured out what it is.” “When Bebe slashed Kenny’s glove the string came loose and since it was so small he didn’t notice in the heat of the moment.”

Everyone looked towards Kenny whose podium had almost reached the center of the trial chamber. “Kenny, please, tell me he’s wrong,” Butters said. 

Kenny didn't respond but he was no longer smiling at this point. “K-Kenny?” 

“I’m sorry Butters,” he said. “Looks like you hit the nail right on the head Mike, why don’t you go ahead and explain it all out one more time for everyone, make sure you didn’t miss anything.” 

“Very well then I will.” I said. “The truth of this case has been revealed!” “It was early this morning around 7:30.” “The victim Bebe walked to the library before Breakfast.” “Heidi and Tweek who were in the Kitchen making Breakfast saw her, at the same time the culprit had begun to put his plan into action.” “He noticed Bebe heading for the library and knew he had to take his chance.” “Waiting until after Tweek and Heidi weren't looking he snuck by and made his way to the stairs leading down to the basement.” 

“At this point, Bebe was already in the library reading a book.” “The culprit snuck up behind her and planned to stab her in the back, nice and easy.” “But Bebe sensed her attacker and a fight began, in the midst of it she slashed the culprit’s glove and caused him to bleed as well as removing a string from his glove.” “At that point, the killer finished the job overpowering her.” “With the last of her strength, she put a thumbprint in her book as the culprit walked away.” “He disposed of the bloody clothes he was wearing on his top layer and headed for the exit.” “By wearing two layers of clothes he doubted we’d be able to pin this crime on him.” “The culprit didn’t realize he was bleeding until after he left the library and at that point, the damage was done.” “The culprit joined us at Breakfast around 8:45 as if nothing happened, thinking he’d committed the perfect crime.” 

“The man shrouded in mystery was the phrase Bebe left behind and by that she meant you didn’t she, the man with the unknown ultimate talent, Kenny McCormick, you are the culprit in this case.” 

The room fell to a deathly quiet for what felt like an eternity, but the silence was broken as Kenny started to cry. 

“You’re right Mike, I did it, I killed Bebe.” 

I looked at him and looked to Wendy, the anger she was feeling this entire trial had clearly left her. 

“Why, why did you do it,” she asked. 

“Hold it right there Ms. Testaburger” Monokuma said. “Will get there in a minute, but first things first, it’s time to cast your votes, simply press the face of the person you believe to be the blackened on the touch screen in front you.” “The heart racing excitement as the blackened and the spotless finally face off, it’s voting time.” 

The screen in front of me lit up and I saw everyone's faces in a circle, the exact layout of the trial circle. With great sadness, I pushed Kenny’s button and hit vote. A moment later a screen appeared and showed the results, it was unanimous everyone had voted for Kenny, even Kenny. It was at that point I knew we made the right decision despite what the implications meant and what the consequences were about to be. 

“Who will be chosen as the blackened will you make the right choice or the dreadfully wrong one.” 

A white wheel appeared next to Monokuma again with all of our faces on it. A black bar spun around three times before slowing down and inevitably landed on Kenny’s face. “You got it right folks, Bebe Stevens killer was indeed, Kenny McCormick” Monokuma announced joyously. At this point most of us began to tear up, 

“Kenny why did you do it” Wendy asked. 

“I-I had no choice, the video Monokuma left for me it showed me who the most important person in my life was, someone I had completely forgotten about until now,” Kenny said, it was hard to make out what he was saying, he was rather emotional. 

“The video I had shown me a picture of a young girl in an orphanage, Monokuma’s video explained that she was my little sister, the moment that happened the memories of her and I came flooding back. She-she needs me she's all alone, I needed to escape to be with her and keep her safe.” 

“I have a question Kenny,” Eric said he was among one of the few who wasn’t crying. “After Butters told us about you in the kitchen, you didn’t put up much of a fight, in all honesty, you kind of bent over and gave up.” 

“I want to see Karen don’t get me wrong, and I know that is impossible now, but during the trial when Butters was the primary suspect and then when he told us the truth I knew that I had two options, either attempt to lie my way through it and hope for a wrong answer or accept my fate.” “Either fourteen lives would be lost or one would.” “There’s an old quote, the needs of the many out way the needs of the few.” “I killed Bebe to try and see my sister again, but when I knew I was being backed into a corner I decided that it was better to die for my crimes rather than to live with the guilt and the burden of throwing all of you, my friends, to the gates of hell.” 

“Kenny,” I said. “We can’t forgive what you did to Bebe, but at the very least I understand your reasoning behind it.” 

“I forgive you, Kenny,” Butters said running up to him and hugging him. Butters was hysterical at this point, “please don’t leave me.” “I didn’t want to say it during the trial but after you told me to speak freely another memory came back to me.” “Kenny, we grew up together and you were my best friend, you protected me from my abusive parents and in time we fell in love.” 

Kenny was shocked and then as if a cruel God was giving him a final middle finger, the memories of his past with Butters rushed back to him. 

“Oh, Butters I’m so sorry, I completely forgot everything we’ve been through.” 

“It’s ok Kenny,” he said smiling tears rushing down his face.

“Now I must go,” Kenny said. Butters looked at him they were both crying, Butters’ face said it all he’d completely forgotten about the fate of a blackened. When he did he ran towards Monokuma’s chair and began begging on his knees. 

“Mr. Monokuma, please let Kenny leave.” “If you do you can execute me instead.” “He needs to go to his little sister, he’s the only one who can keep her safe, please I’m begging you let him live and take me instead.” 

“Sorry no can do kiddo, rules are rules, he killed and got caught which means he dies, be grateful I’m giving you time now to say your goodbyes,” he said with an evil smile, he truly was the embodiment of despair. Kenny walked up behind him and put his hand on Butters shoulder. 

“Stand up babe, don’t let my last sight of you be on the ground crying.” Butters stood up and hugged Kenny again. “Go on, go to the others my time is up.” With that Butters kissed him and whispered into his ear, 

“I love you, Ken, I always will.” Kenny smiled and Butters returned to the rest of us. Kenny looked at all of us and said, 

“you may or may not forgive me and that is fine, but promise me this one thing, escape here alive, you all have to live on for me and for Bebe, I believe in you all so please never walk into this chamber again, and when you all escape stay friends ok?” 

“No problem Kenny,” Craig said. 

“We’ll do it,” Tweek said. 

“We will honor your last request,” Stan said. 

Wendy stepped forward, “Kenny, I won’t forgive you, but promise me this if you see Bebe on the other side tell her I’ll never forget her.” 

“I promise Wendy,” Kenny said. “Butters?” Butters looked up at him. “Babe do me a favor when the execution starts, close your eyes and don’t open them until Mike says it ok, and Mike keep an eye on him for me will ya.” I nodded in agreement and Butters closed his eyes. 

“Alright Monokuma I’m ready when you are,” 

“Geez about time, now then I’ve prepared a very special punishment for Kenny McCormick,” Monokuma said. “Let’s give it everything we got, it’s PUNISHMENT TIME!” 

With that Monokuma hit the big red button next to him with his gavel and on the screen behind us showed a little pixel Kenny and a Monokuma walking towards him the text read, “Kenny has been found guilty, commencing execution.” Suddenly a metal ring latched itself onto Kenny’s neck and pulled him straight towards the ceiling until he was out of sight, the giant TV turned on again and we saw Kenny falling and then being caught on something, his neck latch holding him up. The camera zoomed out to show some sort of spinning top device, picture the swing ride at your local amusement park and you’ll understand what I mean. 

A graphic appeared, “spinning around the world, Ultimate ??? Kenny McCormick’s execution: executed.” The device powered up and started swinging Kenny by his neck. It picked up speed faster and faster until any attempt to follow resulted in extreme dizziness. Then suddenly it stopped and Kenny’s neck was snapped from the force and the jolt, his lifeless body laid hanging there. The neck latch dropped him and we never saw him again. The screen turned off and Monokuma vanished, we all looked at each other horrified by what we just saw, all except Butters whose eyes remained closed till the very end. He honored his lover’s wish even as he passed on. We heard the elevator door open and Monokuma came over the loudspeaker. 

“Nice work everyone, the first trial is over, now all of you may exit the trial chamber and head back down to the first floor, good night and happy killing.” The PA system turned off and we took the elevator back down to the ground floor, no one said a word, no one could, seeing what becomes of a blackened shook everyone to their very core, I doubt another murder will ever happen, who would risk the fate Kenny suffered just to escape this place. In all honesty I was afraid to find out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Surviving Students: 14


	5. Chapter 5: The Somber Meal

Chapter 5: The Somber Meal  
We entered the cafeteria, still recovering from the horrific events of the last few hours, to see a bunch of pizza boxes sitting on the table for us. It was dinner time but I doubt anyone would be able to hold their food down after seeing Kenny’s brutal execution. Eric walked to the table and sat down first grabbed a few slices and began eating. 

“How can you eat right now after what you just saw,” Heidi asked. 

“I don’t want it to get cold” Eric replied. “We can’t waste time mourning the dead, will probably be back in the trial chamber tomorrow because someone else got killed.” 

Eric’s insensitivity to what had just happened angered Wendy and Butters, the two of them walked over to him and yanked the chair out from under him. He hit the floor and without even blinking Butters and Wendy each put a foot on one of his arms. 

“How fucking dare you,” Wendy said. “One of our classmates is dead the other brutally executed, how can you care so little about human life or our situation that you’d joke about it happening again?” 

“Simple” Eric said. “Kenny killed and got what he deserved, if we mourn them forever then we won’t be able to move on with our lives.” “Honestly we shouldn't even be mourning Kenny, he was nothing but a killer and he died a killer.” 

That statement pushed Butters over the edge and he began choking Eric out, it took Craig, Clyde, and Myself to yank Butters off him. 

“Butters don’t,” Craig said. “You’ll only end up joining Kenny and Bebe in the afterlife.” 

“Yeah well maybe it’s worth it” Butters shouted leaving the room, Wendy went after him while the rest of us stayed behind. I was keeping composed but, in all honesty, if Butters hadn't done it I would have. 

“Let me tell you something right now Eric, if you continue to torment Butters and Wendy over this I promise you you'll regret it.” I stared at him pure fire in my eyes, “I’ll happily become the blackened and face death if it means you won’t be able to bully the rest of us anymore.” 

I don’t think I’ve ever sounded so menacing before I scared even myself. Eric backed off after, he took some slices and left, the rest of us sat down and began to eat, hoping that food would numb the pain a little, even though we knew it wouldn't. No one spoke a word, everyone just ate and then adjourned to their rooms to sleep. I heard a knock at my door as I was getting ready for bed, it was Butters. 

“Can I come in?” he asked. I let him in without hesitation, he hugged me almost instantly. “I-I can’t handle this anymore Mike, Kenny’s only been gone for a few hours and I already want to end it just to see him again.” 

Butters being suicidal over this was not a good situation for any of us. “It’s ok you can stay here until you feel better we can talk as much as you want, believe it or not, Butters there are people who love you, gone or not.” Butters and I sat on my bed for what felt like hours talking I didn’t realize it until the next morning but we had fallen asleep together. I woke up the next morning to an unconscious Butters lying in my arms, I guess during the night we tossed and turned enough to the point where we just started cuddling to make it easier to sleep. I shot up after coming to this realization and the jolt woke Butters up. He got his bearings and realized what was going on. 

“Oh geez, we didn’t hook up last night did we Mike,” Butters asked. 

“What no of course not” I answered quickly. 

“Oh, good I was worried there for a second, I’m gonna go get changed and head for breakfast.” Butters laughed awkwardly and left the room. Did he want to hook up, no he couldn’t have, he and Kenny were in love and he just lost him I must be imagining things. I quickly got myself together and went to breakfast. I walked in to see Wendy, she looked like she had been up all night. 

“Damn Wendy what the hell happened to you,” I asked. 

“I was up all-night setting this up” she answered pointing to a long table with a sign that said, “Honor the Fallen”. On it was a picture of Bebe and underneath was a bin. 

“What’s in the bin,” I asked. 

“I went back to the library this morning and found these on a table, they’re pictures of all of us” she answered. “Hopefully we will never have to use them but we should at least put Bebe’s picture up.” 

“What about Kenny,” I asked. 

“I still can’t forgive him, but I think Butters should put his picture up it’ll make him feel better knowing we’re mourning Kenny alongside him. Everyone else trickled in Butters the last of us. Wendy gathered everyone around and explained the table and the pictures then she turned to Butters. 

“Here Butters.” She gave him Kenny’s picture, “you should do the honors, he may have been a killer but he’s still one of us.” 

Butters smiled clearly appreciating the sentiment, he put Kenny’s picture next to Bebe’s and we all sat down to Breakfast. Halfway through the meal Monokuma appeared. 

“Heya future killers and victims how goes it.” No one answered we just looked at him pure disgust on our faces. 

“What do you want you son of a bitch” Kyle asked. 

“Now no need to be hostile I just came to let you in on a few things” he answered. “First the second floor has been unlocked as well as some first floor and basement areas that weren't accessible. You’ll find that seven ultimate research labs have opened up as well.” 

“Ultimate research labs,” I asked. 

“Yep special rooms for each of you that cater to your special talents, now let's see here I won’t tell you their locations but the labs opened up were Nichole’s, Heidi’s, Tweek’s, Clyde’s, Jimmy’s, Kyle’s, annnnnd, oh” Monokuma stopped short. 

“What’s the last one,” Wendy asked. 

“Well it was Bebe’s but since she’s dead I’m afraid you can’t access it, just another rule of the killing game I’m afraid. Also, on the second floor, you’ll find a botanical garden as well as a nurse’s office.” “Welp that’s all the help I’m giving later losers” Monokuma left after that. 

“We should probably go check out the new areas,” Tweek said. 

“Right but we need to discuss something first,” I said. “I’m assuming everyone has noticed their motive videos in their rooms by now.” Everyone nodded, “has anyone watched them” they all looked at each other and replied no. “Alright then let's make a new rule right now, no one is to watch their motive video we will lock them all in the lockbox in the kitchen.” 

Everyone agreed and went back to their rooms picking up their motive videos and bringing them back. The lockbox requires two keys to open, everyone agreed that I should hold one and Craig should hold the other if anyone tries to take Craig’s he’ll knock the crap out of them and I’m hiding mine in my room. From there we split up to search each of the new locations, the six with opened labs went to their respective labs, Butters, Stan, and I checked out the nurse’s office, and the others checked out the garden. Inside the nurse's office were two beds, a nurse’s station, and a cabinet. Stan being our designated doctor checked out everything in it. 

“We got medicines, supplements for drinks, and poisons,” he said. We shouldn't have been surprised but we were regardless. 

“Oh geez, they put poison in there too,” Butters asked in a panicked tone. 

“It’s fine,” Stan said. “We all saw Kenny’s execution, no one would be dumb enough to kill knowing that could be their fate.” We got a message from Wendy in the garden with Henrietta and the others, she asked us to join them there. Eventually, everyone had assembled, even those with labs. 

“I called us all here because we need to know what we’re dealing with and since we’re all here anyway will investigate the garden while we discuss.” 

“Right so first things first then,” I said. “The seven who have labs what was inside?” 

“My lab was a smaller version of the library but it had something interesting inside of it, I brought it with me so we could check it out,” Nichole said. 

“My lab is attached to this garden actually,” Heidi said, “inside was everything I would need to tend to it as well as a station for plant-based experiments.” 

“Craig and I checked out my lab,” Tweek said. “The inside looked like what would happen if a coffee shop banged a small-town bar,” Craig said. Not the most specific description but I got the gist of what he was trying to say. 

“Mine’s a locker room with equipment from every sport imaginable,” Clyde said. 

“Mine looks like the inside of small comedy club, complete with open mic night style stage and four tables and sixteen chairs,” Jimmy said. 

Lastly was Kyle’s “mines much bigger on the inside then it looks. There’s a whole temple in there, it looks like the inside of a synagogue, pews, an altar, everything I’d need to perform ceremonies. While I discussed the labs with them, Wendy led the others on an investigation of the garden, when she returned she told me that all they found was the side entrance to Heidi’s lab and the small shed in the back with gardening supplies. 

After we were done investigating we went to Nichole’s lab so she could show us the thing she mentioned to me earlier. We gathered around her as she sat down at a wooden table in her lab. 

“Alright here’s what I found” she started. She opened the book to the first journal entry. It turned out to be a research experiment journal for tracking progress. 

“It’s called the Project UA,” she said. 

“UA, what does UA stand for” Craig asked. 

“No clue” she answered, “anyone got any ideas?” We all looked at each other with no idea what it stood for. 

“Could it be some fake thing Monokuma put in here to mess with our minds?” Wendy asked. 

“Did somebody say my name?” the familiar and unwanted voice said from behind. We turned to see Monokuma standing right behind us. 

It probably would do us no good but I asked him anyway as if it was a reflex. “Monokuma, what does UA stand for.” 

“Oh, so you found the first piece of the puzzle already aye” he answered. “Welp I’m afraid I can’t help you there if I gave you all the answers what would be the point of the game.” So, it all ties into the game, no surprise there. “Anyway, I just came to tell ya one more thing I forgot to mention earlier, there are four decks on this ship plus the basement and the pool deck above deck four, in these decks you’ll find special rooms as well as the rest of the research labs, if ya want access to them then all ya got to do is find the blackened when the next murder happens.” 

“Like theirs gonna be another murder,” Butters said. 

“Oh, I think there will be” Monokuma responded ominously. “After all you won’t find any more clues about Project UA on these two floors.” With that Monokuma left and we all looked around the feeling of despair washing over us at the prospect of being in the dark about this mysterious project and of course being trapped here by extension.

“Nichole what does the journal say, any specifics,” Token asked.  
“A few things” she answered. “We’ve successfully located and contacted the fifteen subjects for this experiment, once they are transferred to site Alpha preparations will be made, these fifteen are the last hope for humanity’s survival.” We all looked at each other shocked at the paragraph Nichole just read aloud. 

I thought for a moment and then a realization came to me, Butters noticed it and before I had a chance to speak he asked. “Mike what’re you thinking?” 

“There’s only one reason this information was left for us to find” I answered. “Fifteen people were chosen for this project, care to guess who those fifteen people are?” 

Wendy quickly came to the same realization as I did. “The fifteen people, you think it’s talking about us?” 

“If I had to guess” I answered. “Which leads to an even bigger problem.” 

“What do you mean,” Tweek asked. At this point everyone was looking at me, I knew this answer would freak everyone out but secrets won’t help in this situation. 

“Do the math guys, counting our departed friends, what’s our count total.” Everyone quickly figured it out as well.

“There’s one too many people on this boat to be in the UA project,” Heidi said. 

“Exactly” I answered. “Which leaves us with two options, one bad, the other worse.” 

“Oh geez,” Tweek said starting to panic. 

“Either this project UA is just a distraction or worse one of the people on this boat is a spy and probably the one masterminding this whole game,” I said. Everyone started to look around suspicious of one another. 

“Everyone please,” Heidi said raising her voice, we all looked at her. “This isn’t the time to be turning on each other, the simple fact of the matter is this is just a way for Monokuma to get another murder for his crazy game.” “We go crazy wanting to know more to the point that will kill for the information, we can’t let that happen.” 

“What we need is a distraction,” Craig said. We looked at him confused, “we need to take our mind of this killing game and this information.” He paused for a moment then continued, “I got it, Tweek why don’t you hold a coffee tasting.” 

“A what,” he asked confused. 

“It’s like a wine tasting but with coffee, don’t forget because of Bebe’s case no one was ever able to try your coffee and you have space and materials in your lab,” Craig said. “This is a good chance for us to get to know everyone better.” He was really speaking directly to Tweek but we could tell he intended for all of us to hear it. 

“That sounds like fun,” Heidi said. 

“I’m in” Clyde said. 

“Ugh wait everyone, this is way too much pressure for me” Tweek said. Craig quickly hugged him and he calmed down instantly, it’s like Craig’s hugs were a sedative for Tweek. 

“I’ll help you babe I promise” Craig said. Tweek hesitated but then agreed to the coffee tasting. 

“Ok but I’m gonna need time to prepare and plan this.” “Give me three days to figure it all out I’ll let you know once I have the details sorted out.” 

“Not interested” Eric said, heading for the door. 

“Where are you going” Kyle asked crossing his arms. 

“Where do you think back to my room of course” he answered. “Look nothing personal but I got no interest in hanging out with all of you, if the name of the game is survival then that’s what I’m gonna do, so screw you guys, I’m going to my room.” With that he left us, not that his usual “fuck off” attitude bothered us at this point. 

“Why don’t we go eat dinner” Heidi suggested. 

“You guys go ahead I’m gonna see what else I can find on this UA project, maybe a book in here will give me some clues, I’ll catch up in a bit” Nichole said. With that we left her lab and went to dinner. All seemed well, a small moment of peace, before a tragic hell storm.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Surviving Students: 14


	6. The Calm Before the Storm

Three days, that was the time frame Tweek needed for his coffee tasting to run as a success. In those three days, not much had happened it was all in all peaceful, if you didn’t know any better you’d think of it as just another school trip. 

I personally spent some time with Token, Stan, and Tweek, each of them wanted me to help them with something. Token was first, he came to me the morning after we found the UA information, he asked me to help him ask Nichole out. It turns out he has had feelings for her since we got here although how someone could think about romance in a situation like this is beyond me. The plan we came up with was simple Token found out what Nichole’s favorite book was via Heidi, read it, and then used it as a way to talk to her. I don’t know how he finished it in a day but I guess love makes you go above and beyond what you would normally do for another person. Anyway, it seemed to work out well enough apparently Tweek’s coffee tasting was going to be their first date, Token was grateful for my help although he did most of the planning I just gave my opinion on the matter. 

The next day Stan approached me after lunch, he asked me for help on a personal matter as well. I agreed to meet him in the library later that day, it turns out that Kyle’s birthday was coming up and Stan wanted to do something nice for him. When I questioned his reasons for this he became red in the face and flushed, I thought he was dying but in actuality, he was just as love-struck as Token was. I guess people assumed I was the love doctor or something but in actuality, I was far from it. Regardless we searched the library for a book on this sort of thing and ended up finding one on poetry. Stan decided to write a poem for Kyle and asked me to leave him alone so he could write in peace. I came back hours later to still find him working hard at it, I left him to his work, and he ended up working all night long. When he came to breakfast the next morning, he looked like a zombie, in order to keep his plan a secret he didn’t tell anyone. I’d assumed he finished it but I could’ve been wrong. After breakfast Stan headed back for the library, guess he wasn’t done, after all. 

Tweek approached me as I left the cafeteria to head over to the garden, he asked me to help with the final preparations for the tasting, from what he said Craig had been helping him non-stop and Tweek wanted to give him a break. We went to his lab and I helped him by bringing him the ingredients he needed, afterward, he made me a cup as a thank you and then started talking about Craig. 

“Ya know, Craig’s the greatest, he put up with all my outbursts and craziness, even back home in South Park, I couldn’t ask for a better boyfriend,” he said. “What about you Mike have you ever had a boyfriend?”

“If I did I don’t remember it, not all of us were lucky enough to get the memories of the love of our life” I answered. 

“I’m worried, Mike,” he said. “This is a killing game and we’ve already seen blood spilled, I’m worried that someone will kill me or worse kill Craig.” “What if someone kills me and Craig retaliates and ends up being executed or worse, what if someone tries to kill Craig and he ends up killing them in self-defense, then I’d watch him be executed.” 

Tweek was beginning to have a panic attack so I got off my chair and ran behind the counter, “deep breaths Tweek, deep breaths, in, out, in, out.” Craig walked into Tweek’s lab a moment later, “Craig” I shouted. “Tweek’s having a panic attack.” 

Craig rushed over, “don’t worry Mike I’ll take care of it, just go grab him a bottle of water from the cafeteria.” I ran as fast as I could to the cafeteria and back to his lab, Craig is some kind of miracle worker when it comes to this because by the time I got back Tweek was calm and sitting at one of the tables. I gave him his water, Craig had his hand on Tweek’s shoulder, 

“I’m gonna take off” I said to them. 

“Here I’ll walk you out,” Craig said. The two of us walked into the hall, “thanks Mike sorry you had to see that.” 

“Oh, it’s no trouble” I replied. 

“Truth is, Butters, isn’t the only one with bad parents that he doesn’t want to talk about.” That’s right with all the heightened emotions of Kenny’s execution I completely forgot that Butters said that. “Tweek’s parents were abusive as well, but instead of using physical force, they drugged him, put meth into his coffee every day and it caused him to be the way he is now, but through all of that I still love him, he helped me come to terms with who I am and for that I’ll always be grateful, I swear that I’ll do anything to keep him safe.” 

Craig’s speech moved me to the point where I almost teared up, Tweek was lucky to have him in his life. That night Tweek sent a mass message to everyone on his notebook. It read, “I’m ready for the coffee tasting, tomorrow at 8pm in my lab.” The messages from the others came pouring in everyone said they’d be there all except Eric living up to his policy on only surviving. With that I went to sleep, little did I know that the door to despair was about to open once more. 

The next day everyone had breakfast and lunch together and then went their separate ways until at least, it was time for the coffee tasting. As the hour drew near I met up with Butters and the two of us walked to Tweek’s together. When we got there Craig, Clyde, Token, Kyle, and Wendy were there. A few minutes after the scheduled meet time Stan, Henrietta, and Jimmy arrived. 

“Sorry I’m late I was finishing up something,” Stan said. 

“It’s all good,” Craig said. “Not everyone is here yet anyway. 8:30 rolled around, and Heidi appeared. By this point, Tweek came out of his lab and was standing with the rest of us. 

“I’m so sorry everyone I was in my lab working on some soil samples and before I knew it was already quarter after, I ran back to my room and got changed real fast then darted over here,” she said gasping for breath. 

“It’s ok Heidi,” Tweek said, “as long as you’re ok.” Heidi may have been ok but our count was only up to twelve, even including Eric who had no interest in this, we were only up to thirteen. 

“Hey, where’s Nichole” Clyde asked. 

“I went to her lab about an hour ago to remind her,” Wendy said. “She said she had to finish looking at something and then she’d come right over.” I looked at Token whose face began to turn pale, I knew exactly what he was thinking, 

“Token don’t even go there alright” I said to him. “She probably just lost track of time too, let’s go look for her.” We split up into teams of three and started looking. Token, Butters, and I checked her lab and the nurse's office to no avail. We then looked around the garden it looked like someone had been digging around but since Heidi had been working on samples that’s to be expected. 

Butters was walking around not looking where he was going and ended up tripping on a brick used to keep the soil contained, it had been moved out of place for some reason. Butters landed in the soil when he did he heard an odd noise below, he started moving dirt around and that’s when he saw it. His scream pierced the whole garden, Token and I came running over to him only to find the cause of his wail. Wrapped in a plastic tarp buried beneath the soil was the Ultimate Author, Nichole Daniels dead. Suddenly the PA speaker turned on and we heard Monokuma’s voice. “A body has been discovered, everyone report to the botanical garden immediately.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Surviving Students: 13


	7. Investigation 2 Begins: The Shallow Grave in the Garden

Suddenly the PA speaker turned on and we heard Monokuma’s voice. “A body has been discovered, everyone report to the botanical garden immediately.” 

Moments later the remaining students came running. 

Wendy shouted as she entered the others following behind her, “who is it, is it Nichole or Eric?” 

Token turned around and looked at her his eyes as void as Monokuma’s soul. The look he gave Wendy was all the answer she needed. She and the others quickly came in view of the body. All of us shocked in disbelief that another murder has occurred. Token started to break down and ran for the body, thankfully, Butters and I were able to hold him back. 

“Token don’t” I shouted. “I can’t let you touch the body, their evidence we need to collect.” As I heard myself say it I knew how cruel I sounded but in order for us all to survive, we needed to sacrifice compassion. 

A moment later Eric strolled in casually eating a chocolate bar. “So, the killing game has started up again aye?” “We made it almost a week this time, where’s the corpse?” 

Token got up and made a mad dash toward him tackling him to the ground. “You smug bastard I hope you go out screaming” Token shouted. 

“The hell, someone get this crazy bastard off me” Eric demanded. 

Craig and Clyde yanked Token off of Eric and he stood back up. I understand Token’s anger and his suspicion of Eric, not only was his crush killed but Eric was the only one out on his own. He’s automatically at the top of the suspect list. Nevertheless, I had to rally everyone or this might end badly. 

“Alright everyone, listen up,” I said. “We have to investigate her death and find the killer just like with Bebe, Butters take Token to the cafeteria and do what you do best, he’s no good to us like this.” 

“Got it” he replied. 

“Take Eric with you as well and don’t let him out of your sight” I added. “The simple fact of the matter is he was the only one alone tonight so going into the trial he’s the most probable culprit, with that in mind having him investigate runs the risk of evidence being lost.” 

“You don’t trust me, Mike, I’m hurt,” Eric said sarcastically. 

“The only reason that I’m not letting Token throw you over the handrail of this floor is that if he does he’ll face execution as well and your death isn’t worth it” I said bluntly “So your gonna go with Butters and Token and sit in the cafeteria while the rest us investigate and if you try anything will vote you the culprit as soon as we walk in that chamber.” 

“My oh my that’s risky ya know.” The voice of Monokuma echoed behind us, as usual, he’s always around when someone is dead. 

We spun around quickly to face him head-on, “look we don’t have time for your second-rate bear puns or analogies just give us the file and tell us how long we got,” I said. 

“Fine forgive me for trying to help ya out” he replied. “Here ya go the file is downloaded, the trial begins at midnight you’ve got three hours to investigate.” 

“I’m assuming theirs some symbolic and cruel joke to that,” I asked. 

“Yep surmise it to say, someone’s not making it to dawn,” he said in a dark and malicious voice. 

With that, he vanished as is his specialty. “Alright gang the clock isn’t on our side on this one so here’s what we're doing, while Butter’s calms down Token we investigate, Stan you and Kyle take the body to the nurse’s office,” I said. They looked puzzled and asked why? 

“Sorry to make you do this Stan but since we now have the facilities and the situation you’re now our designated medical examiner too. The Monokuma file doesn’t have a cause of death it says either asphyxia or poisoning, your job is to find out which, and if it’s the ladder you and Kyle search the office for the missing vial.” 

“We’re on it,” Stan said. He took my request a lot better than I thought he would. 

“Clyde you and Jimmy search her room, Henrietta Wendy and Heidi take her lab, Craig and Tweek you’re with me we’ll handle the garden as well as Heidi’s lab, there’s a chance the culprit put something in there to throw us off the trail.” 

Everyone had their assignments and quickly headed off to search for evidence, once I got all the evidence off of the body, Stan and Kyle carried her body to the nurse’s office to examine it. We scoured the garden only finding a hand full of clues, along with the tarp, we also found a used shovel as well as some worn gloves still covered in soil. Add to that the knocked over brick that Butters tripped on and that’s all we got. 

Heidi’s lab turned up nothing it actually looked immaculate and untouched. We finished documenting the evidence when Stan messaged me “Mike come to the Nurse’s office, I’ve got my findings.” I sent Craig and Tweek to check on Token and went to the office. 

“What do we got Stan,” I asked. 

“Well the cause of death was indeed poisoning, she died before the tarp even went over her head, I also found some bruising on her arms kind of like she was pinned down.” 

“Anything else,” I asked. 

“Based on what I saw at the scene and looking at the body, Nichole was definitely panicking before she died” he answered. 

“Most people panic if they think they might die unexpectedly,” I said. 

“This wasn’t that, this was something different I just don’t know what” he responded. 

“Thanks, Stan, let me know what poison was used when you figure it out,” I said as I left the room. When I got into the hall I got a message from Clyde he had found something in there that we all needed to see, he told us to meet in the cafeteria. By the time I got there everyone but Stan and Kyle were there. They were still looking for the missing vial of poison. 

“Alright everyone look at this” Clyde said as he held out a motive video tablet. 

We were all shocked, “how, you and Mike have the keys right,” Tweek asked. 

“Yeah it’s right here around my neck” Craig answered showing his key. 

“How’d she get into the lockbox with only one key,” Wendy asked. 

“She didn’t” I answered. “This motive video must be brand new.”

“Well turn it on what does it say,” Tweek asked. 

Clyde turned on the video and it began to play “this is a message for the Ultimate Author Nichole Daniels, I know you want more information on project UA and I can provide that for you, I just need one thing in return.” 

The video stops there and the screen fades to black. 

“One thing,” Tweek said. “What could it be?” 

“Clyde was there anything else in her room,” I asked. 

“Nothing” he answered. 

“What about her lab,” I asked looking towards Wendy. 

“Just this” she answered holding up a note. “It’s addressed to Token.” She gave him the note, “ there was something else” Wendy said hesitantly, “we found this vial of poison in her lab.”  
We all were shocked and Token’s eyes widened at this revelation I could tell that he wasn’t trial ready but we’re out of time. 

“Will worry about the note later, the poison vial takes priority,” he said standing up from his chair. 

We summoned Stan and Kyle to the cafeteria and had him examine the vial, “it’s a lethal toxin called Angel’s Trumpet if Nichole swallowed this she’d be dead in seconds.” 

The evidence we had gathered was all we ended up finding before the trial began, and just like last time, we rode the elevator all the way up to the trial chamber. We didn’t want the game to continue, we didn’t want to break our promise to Kenny, but unfortunately, we had to step foot into the home of the class trial once more. 

The elevator stopped and the door opened just like last time the shudders closed and the podiums rose up from the ground, we took our places and noticed one key difference this time. Kenny’s portrait was there with a red X through it just like Bebe’s, Nichole’s had one as well. The second class trial, to discover the identity of the killer of Nichole Daniels, the Ultimate Author, and our friend, was about to begin we all looked around at each other some had determined looks on their faces, while others were falling into despair at the thought of what another correct answer would mean. 

Another trial, another blackened, another execution, and another friend lost, the thought of this happening again and leaving us with the choice of either sacrificing the culprit or being executed in mass would be easy in any normal standards, but these are not normal standards, in order to find out the truth of this place we must discover the identity of Nichole’s killer.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Surviving Students: 13


	8. The Trial of Self Preservation

“Now then let’s begin with a basic explanation of the class trial, during the trial you’ll present your arguments on the case, and vote for whodunit, vote correctly and only the blackened will be punished, but if you pick the wrong person, I’ll punish everyone besides the blackened and that person will get to graduate” Monokuma explained. “Alright now let the class trial begin!” 

“I’d never thought we’d be back here again,” Butters said, “sorry Ken we couldn’t keep our promise.” 

“It’s not your fault Butters, whoever killed Nichole is to blame for our reappearance in this chamber,” Kyle said. 

“Well we have to solve the mystery of Nichole’s death so let’s get to it,” Clyde said. It’s beginning, the second trial about gets underway, just like before I have to be ready for anything and everything. 

“So, Nichole was found in the garden,” Clyde said. 

“She was buried underneath the soil.” “Butters, Token, and Mike discovered her there,” Wendy said. 

“Yeah looks like someone stopped her from breathing with the tarp betcha that’s what killed her,” Eric said. 

Wait a minute that’s not right, “No that’s wrong” I said. 

“According to Stan’s autopsy report, the poison is what killed her not the tarp.” 

“Is that right?” Eric said. “In that case, we have the where, the when, and the how, now we just need the who.” 

“Not quite we don’t have the when pinned down yet” I responded. “According to the Monokuma file, she was killed between 7:30pm and 8:15pm, which means that we have a forty-five-minute window for which time ninety percent of us don’t have alibis. We’re just getting started I’m afraid.” 

“The file says the time of death was between 7:30 and 8:15” Wendy asked. “It couldn’t be that early because I went to her lab around 7:30 and she was still alive.” 

“How did she look when you saw her,” Butters asked. 

“She barely even acknowledged me at first, it wasn’t until I was about to leave that she even looked at me, something was definitely eating at Nichole I just wish I knew what it was,” Wendy said. 

“Maybe we do know,” Clyde said. 

“What do you mean,” Token asked. 

“Just follow me on this one I got a theory as to what was bothering her” Clyde answered. “So, Nichole was in her lab, right? She was probably upset about one of two things. Either the book with the info on Project UA or the motive video we found in her room.” 

“One of those two things definitely messed with her psychologically,” Butters said. 

“From the what Wendy said it was probably a combination of both.” 

Hold on what Clyde said is probably the case. “You’re right,” I said. “Clyde the motive video we found, the one in Nichole’s room, she probably watched it before she went to her lab.” 

“How do you figure,” he asked. 

“The contents of the motive video itself are the answer, Nichole wanted information on Project UA and Monokuma gave her an offer that she couldn’t refuse,” I said. 

“Wait hold on Mike where are you going with this” Token asked. 

I hesitated to answer, I knew what this information would do to him, but for the sake of our survival, he and everyone else need to know. 

“I think that the victim, in this case, had planned to become blackened herself.” Everyone was understandably shocked at this theory. 

“Wait a minute, you think Nichole planned to kill someone for information,” Token asked. 

“That’s crazy why would she do that” Tweek asked. 

“Think about it Tweek” Eric started. “She was the Ultimate Author, knowledge is what she craved and that journal we found was like a turkey on Thanksgiving for her, she probably wanted more info from the get-go, and when Monokuma offered it she didn’t even hesitate.” 

“No, I don't believe it,” Token said. “I refuse to believe that Nichole was trying to kill.” “Nichole may have been interested in the journal, but she wouldn’t kill for it, she was our friend, how could you believe she would attempt to kill anyone, she’s the victim, she didn’t try to kill!” 

Token’s upset I get that but there is proof that backs up my theory. 

“No that’s wrong,” I said. “I’m sorry Token but theirs evidence to back up my theory. The poison vial that Wendy found in her lab, what would she be doing with that in the first place?” 

“Your, your wrong” Token said. 

“She was good she would never do something like that.” 

“There is another theory, but it’s just as bad I’m afraid,” Heidi said. 

“What do you mean,” I asked. 

“She could’ve used that poison on herself” Heidi answered. An equally understandable shock echoed through the chamber. We all looked at Heidi eagerly awaiting her explanation. “Nichole could have been planning to kill with the poison, but then as she was getting ready to go out and kill, she suddenly realized that what she was doing was horribly wrong.” 

“But why to take herself out,” Eric asked. “Why not just go join the others as if none of it had ever happened?” 

“Simple” Heidi answered. “Butters if someone had an epiphany like that under these circumstances how badly would the guilt be weighing them down?” 

“That kind of guilt would be soul-crushing” he answered. 

“Exactly, the guilt of realizing what she had done had gotten to be too much for her so she swallowed the poison right there in her lab and ended her life,” Heidi said. Wait for their evidence that proves this isn’t a suicide. 

“No that’s wrong,” I said. “Heidi that can’t be how it went down remember we found her body in the garden and there was no evidence of drag marks in her lab so I doubt that she was killed anywhere else.” 

“I see,” Heidi said, “I guess it was foolish to think that Nichole would do something like that, sorry Token my theory probably just upset you more.” 

“It’s alright, but to be quite honest I also think this was a suicide” Token said. His statement caught me and everyone else by surprise. “I can’t bring myself to believe that Nichole wanted to kill and even if the suicide was her way of atoning for an act she had yet to commit, I will believe in Nichole and that she was good to the very end.” 

“Don’t be a fool Token she obviously hadn't planned to use it on herself” Eric said. 

“Yeah that’s right plus we already agreed there was no evidence of body transport,” Jimmy said. 

“But what if she just ended it in the garden and someone buried her there” Wendy added. 

“The evidence could prove that theory,” Tweek said. 

“No way, that bookworm didn’t kill herself, someone killed her and they used that tarp to cover it up remember,” Henrietta said. 

“Hold it right there” Monokuma shouted. “It seems like your split down the middle again which means it time for another team debate!” “Today’s topic: Who did Nichole plan to use the poison on?” 

I believe she planned to kill with it, I just need to make sure the others see it as well. Just like before Monokuma put turned his key and our platforms began to move. 

“On the self-side, we have, Heidi, Token, Wendy, Tweek, Craig, and Clyde. On the someone else side, we have, Mike, Butters, Jimmy, Eric, Henrietta, Stan, and Kyle, ready let the team debate, begin!” 

“Nichole killed herself after I saw her in her lab” Wendy started. 

“But then how did she end up in the garden” Henrietta replied. 

“The culprit probably dragged her body from her lab to the garden,” Clyde said. 

“Without any of us seeing them, that’s a little far-fetched if you ask me” Kyle rebutted. 

“The pressure of the UA project became too much for her to handle gah,” Tweek said. 

“You’re the only one who can’t handle extra pressure Tweek” Eric responded. 

“Nichole didn’t seem like the type to be able to kill someone, she’s too innocent for that if you ask me,” Craig said. 

“Even innocent people can draw the blood of another when adrenaline takes over their minds and they aren't thinking clearly,” Stan said. 

“If she killed herself in the garden, maybe someone just buried her there to mess with our heads,” Heidi said. 

“Psychologically that makes sense, but with the time crunch and considering the time when we all met up I doubt anyone would’ve gone to the trouble for kicks,” Butters said. 

“No, Nichole wouldn’t kill I know it in my heart,” Token said. 

“I’m sorry man but the evidence, in this case, supports the murder theory,” I said. 

“And with that” I stated, “This is our answer,” the members of the someone else side said in conjunction. 

With that, we finally came to a consensus that Nichole did indeed plot to kill one of us for the information Monokuma promised her in the video. 

“So, if Nichole did plot to kill, who was the target,” Wendy asked. 

“Well, whoever she went after probably ended up becoming the culprit on this one” Stan answered. 

“Agreed” I concurred. “I think first we should make sure we know where she was killed.” 

“Isn’t it obvious?” Craig asked. “She was killed in the Garden.” 

“I don’t know about that, there is a chance she was killed elsewhere, her lab or even her room” Eric said. 

“What makes you say that,” Kyle asked. “Got something you want to tell us?” 

“You wish I was the culprit so you can watch me get executed but I am afraid that you won’t get the pleasure this time,” Eric said in a snarky tone. “I have a theory if you would like to hear it.” 

“Enlighten us,” I said. 

“Very well, listen up,” he said. “Now follow me on this one.” “What if Nichole summoned the culprit to her lab, and attempted to poison them.” “When she failed the culprit overpowered her and forced the poison down her throat, once that was done they dragged Nichole to the garden and dug a shallow grave for her in order to make us think she died in the garden.” His theory makes sense but there’s some evidence that doesn’t support it. 

“No that’s wrong,” I said. “There’s a contradiction in your theory, and it lies in the garden.” 

“Enlighten me,” he said. 

“The brick that was out of place in the garden,” I said. “The one that Butters fell on when we discovered Nichole’s body, it’s not much but I believe that it’s enough to confirm that she died in the garden.” 

“So, the question is who was in the garden with Nichole,” Wendy asked. 

“Well you all were supposed to come to my lab for the coffee tasting at 8 but a good half of you were late” Tweek answered. 

“Craig, Clyde, Token, Kyle, Wendy, Mike, and I were all there at 8,” Butters said. 

“Stan, Henrietta, and Jimmy showed up a few minutes later,” Craig said. “So, what were you guys doing before you got there, I don’t want to suspect you guys but we need to know.” 

“Well, Henrietta and I were actually together in my lab before we came to Tweek’s,” Jimmy said. 

“Really,” Heidi said surprised. “What were you two doing together?” 

“Don’t act so shocked, flower girl” Henrietta said aggressively. “Jimmy here was showing me some of his standup act.” 

“Henrietta seemed more upset about this then the rest of us, I was trying to cheer her up,” Jimmy said. 

“That’s really nice of you Jim,” Butters said. 

“So, they’re clear, what about you Stan,” Craig asked. 

“I uh, I don’t want to talk about it” he answered. 

“What why,” Kyle asked. 

“I can’t tell you” he answered. “Stan you need to, unless, did you kill her,” Kyle asked panicking. 

“No, I swear I didn’t” he answered. 

“Stan you need to tell us or we’ll vote you the culprit,” Token said. 

“It’s none of your business,” he said getting more aggressive. 

“Well that’s all I needed to hear, Stan has my vote” Token responded. 

“Hold on,” I said. “I think I might know what he was doing and why he doesn’t want to say.” 

“Mike don’t,” he said. “Stan, I know you’re not the culprit they need to know, otherwise we will all die and I don’t want to die here, do you?” He didn’t respond but I had no choice. “Stan has been working on a birthday gift for Kyle, a poem, he spent the last few days in the library working on it, I know because I helped him with it.” “Ten bucks that’s what he was working on before he arrived at Tweek’s lab.” 

Kyle looked at Stan, “is that true?” Stan blushed and nodded confirming the revelation. 

“Stan I” Kyle began, 

“let’s get through this trial and then we can talk about other stuff later.” Stan cut him off. 

“Well with that I believe that those three are clear” Wendy said awkwardly. Being stuck in between both of them after that revelation, I wouldn’t want to be her. 

“Last but not least, Heidi you were the last one to arrive before we found Nichole in the garden, what were you doing before you came to us,” I asked. 

“Well let’s see I was in my room for a bit then I went to my lab to work on some soil samples I took from the garden the other night, then I realized where the time had gone, I ran back to my room, got changed and went to meet you guys.”

Craig and I glanced at each other as she said that, we both caught it, the contradiction she made. 

“Heidi, something’s wrong with your alibi,” Craig said. 

“What do you mean,” she asked. 

“When Tweek, Craig and I searched the garden, we checked out your lab it looked like it hadn’t been used at all, as new as the day it was unlocked,” I said. 

“What can I say I’m meticulous about my cleaning, I cleaned up before I left” she answered. 

“But wait you said you rushed over after running back to your room, you had time to clean before you ran to get ready,” Tweek asked. At this point, everyone was looking at Heidi and her platform had moved toward the center. 

“Wait, hold on,” Kyle said. “I’m off the opinion that it’s still too early to convict Heidi and condemn her to death.” “We still don’t have Eric’s alibi and he’s much more suspicious in these circumstances then Heidi.” 

“Screw you, Kyle, I told you I was in my room,” Eric said. “That alibi is not gonna hold up dude, no one saw you in your room plus you weren’t with the rest of us outside Tweek’s room at all, you could've been anywhere on this boat and none of us would’ve known, until we found the body, you were completely MIA.” 

“Just because you didn’t see me doesn’t mean I killed that bitch,” Eric said. 

“Her name was Nichole you scumbag,” Token said. “I’m with Kyle I think fatass here did it.” 

Eric’s platform turned red and advanced forward to match the positioning of Heidi’s. Two main suspects each with shaky alibis, one of them killed Nichole in self-defense after she tried to poison them. Everyone is unsure on who to vote for but based on the evidence and the circumstances of the crime that we now know took place, there’s only one person who could’ve killed her. 

‘Hey Mike, you've been lost in thought for a while now, do you know who the culprit is” Butters asked. 

“Yeah I think I do” No doubt about it, it has to be them. “The culprit, in this case, is Heidi,” I said. 

Heidi’s eyes widened as if she had known she had been caught, then she started laughing. 

“Good one Mike,” she said, “you caught me off guard for a minute there.” She kept laughing and looked back at me as did some of the others in the room, I couldn’t let my conviction waiver, I know the truth, now I just need to make them see. 

Heidi stopped laughing at this point her tone got much more serious, “you really think I did it” she asked. “How dare you accuse me!” 

Her personality did a complete one-eighty at this point, the sweet gardener and chef we’ve come to know now stood before us an angry and verbally aggressive defendant. 

“After all, I’ve done for you and everyone here you accuse me over fatass over there, he’s more suspicious than anyone in this goddamn killing game!” 

“Sorry Heidi but the facts and evidence don’t” I was about to finish my sentence when someone cut me off. 

“Moses gives me strength” Kyle shouted. “I’m with Heidi there is no way she did this and if you won’t defend her then I will Mike.” “Heidi’s alibi may be a bit shaky, but at least it’s more viable then Eric’s, besides Heidi is the last person here we’d expect to kill.” 

“It doesn’t matter how we feel about her, her alibi, and the location of her lab in conjunction to the scene tells it all” I rebutted. 

“Who cares if her lab was attached to the garden” Kyle responded. “Heidi’s alibi still is stronger, she was in her lab working before the murder happened.” 

I stopped him right there, “I’ll cut your words!” 

“If Heidi was really working in her lab, no matter how meticulous a cleaner she claims to be, she still would’ve left some evidence behind especially if she was in a rush,” I said. “Well, Heidi, what do you have to say?” 

She was unresponsive, not even looking us in the eye, we heard her start to sniffle and saw tears fall from her eyes. At this point everyone was silent, you could hear a pin drop in the room. 

“Well Mike why don’t you finish this one up,” Clyde said. 

I looked to meet his gaze as did the others. He looked at Token and Nichole’s empty podium, she wasn’t a blameless victim in all this, that much was clear. “Let’s end this trial and put this case to bed.” 

Heidi looked at him, panic started to enter her eyes, she knew now what fate would soon befall her, a fate she did not deserve, but in order for us to survive and escape, Heidi must be sacrificed. My conviction had yet to waiver and I couldn’t stop now. With a gripped fist I began to review the case once more. 

“The truth of the case is revealed!” “The blackened in this case had no intention of becoming a murderer this evening, however, their hand was forced. Around 7:30 Wendy saw the victim, Nichole Daniels in here lab reading, she had reminded Nichole about the coffee tasting at Tweek’s lab, when Nichole responded she simply walked away. Wendy and the rest of us for that matter had no idea that Nichole had planned to commit murder. 

Nichole took the poison that she stole from the nurse's office and began looking for a target. She didn’t have anyone in mind, just someone she knew she could overpower. That’s when she saw the culprit in the garden. 

She snuck up behind the culprit and jumped them pinning them to the floor, she reached for the poison and as she did the culprit used their free arm to overpower Nichole. Nichole began to struggle, she wasn’t going to stop now, the culprit had to stop her so they grabbed the first thing she could find which was the bottle that had fallen out of Nichole’s pocket, the culprit probably didn't know it was poison but at this point there was no going back, they poured the poison down Nichole’s throat which subsequently killed her. 

Realizing what they had done, the culprit quickly grabbed a shovel, the gloves, and the tarp from the shed and buried Nichole to hide the evidence. After that, they ran to her lab, dropped the poison vial, proceeded to their room, got changed, and proceeded to meet up with the rest of us as if nothing had happened. You killed her in self-defense didn’t you, Heidi Turner, the Ultimate Gardener.” 

Heidi didn’t respond at first, but after a few seconds she fell to her knees and was crying once more. Her tears spoke a thousand words, and it was all a confession that we had needed. 

“Monokuma,” Token said in a monotone voice. “Please start the voting time, I think we’d all like to get this over with.” 

“You got it, dude,” he said with a chuckle. “Jurors lock in those votes! It’s voting time!” 

The screen in front of me lit up once more, I didn’t want to do it especially given the circumstances, but I pushed Heidi’s button and hit vote. A moment later a screen appeared and showed the results, it wasn’t unanimous this time, we were one vote short considering she hadn’t picked herself up off the floor we all knew who didn’t vote. 

“Who will be chosen as the blackened, will you make the right choice or the dreadfully wrong one.” 

The white wheel appeared next to Monokuma once again all of our faces on it except for Kenny’s, Bebe’s, and Nichole’s. A black bar spun around three times before slowing down and landing on Heidi’s face. 

“Two for two, congrats chums, Nichole Daniels’s killer was the gorgeous girl with the green thumb, Heidi Turner!” She was hysterical at this point and who could blame her. 

“Heidi,” I said. “No one blames you, you were just protecting yourself.” She didn’t respond, it was as if she blocked out all sound. Token walked up to her and kneeled down hugging her. Finally, her eyes had left the floor. 

“Heidi, I know it’s painful but could you please tell us what happened,” he asked. She nodded and composed herself enough to tell us the truth. 

“It happened just like Mike said” she began. “But I didn’t just reach for the poison right away, I tried to talk her down, but she said that she needed to know, and she needed to get out. If I didn’t stop her, she would’ve tried to kill me again, or worse she would’ve gone after one of you. I didn’t mean to kill her, it wasn’t until after she was dead that I realized it was poison.” 

“Why bury the body,” Eric asked. Heidi looked at him confused. “The body, we found it buried, why?” 

“Because, well, she may have tried to kill me, but it was an accident, I wanted to give her a proper burial but all things considered what I did was the best I could do." 

“Noble until the end,” Eric said in a sarcastic tone. 

“Oh, ho speaking of the end, it’s time for Heidi’s end” Monokuma interrupted. The calm state shown on Heidi’s face quickly changed to pure panic. 

“No, please, it was an accident, she was gonna kill me what else was I supposed to do” Heidi pleaded. 

“How should I know, it ain’t my fault the wannabe President over there is also a super sleuth, if anything, blame him for putting it together” Monokuma answered. Heidi was back to full-blown hysterics she raced for the elevator and started to pry it open with her hands, her expression was almost feral I’d never seen anyone so desperate to survive. 

“Now then, I’ve prepared a special punishment for Heidi Turner, the Ultimate Gardener” Monokuma began. 

“Please let me out of here I don’t want to die, help me” Heidi turned around and pleaded for our help, but we all knew there was nothing we could do and, in the end, I believed Heidi knew that too. 

“Let’s give it everything we’ve got, it’s PUNISHMENT TIME,” Monokuma said. Then just like with Kenny, he hit the red button on his gavel and the screen behind him lit up once more. “Heidi has been found guilty, commencing execution.” Heidi was still clawing at the elevator trying to get it open when to hand restraints shot out of the ground, captured her and dragged her underneath the trial chamber. 

The screen lit up and we got a view of the execution chamber once more, we saw Heidi suddenly fall into it her hands-free from the restraints. The light in the chamber grew stronger and we saw five giant fake flowers surrounding her in a pentagon formation. All of them had their petals covering the center, but four of them quickly opened up to reveal multiple holes in each one. A graphic came onto the screen, “When Nature Attacks, Ultimate Gardener Heidi Turner’s execution: executed.” 

Seeds fired out of the four flowers at rapid speed and quantity. They increased in speed doing more and more damage to Heidi’s body, after a few seconds her clothes were torn apart and she was bleeding like crazy. She couldn’t even stand, the damage from the bullet seeds was to extensive. Suddenly the fifth flower slowly bended down to where it was right in front of Heidi, the flower opened and released a plume of yellow smoke, Heidi suffocated from it and inevitably died. Her body laid there lifeless, bringing the second execution, and as a result the second trial to a close. 

Butters fell to his knees after the screen turned to black and screamed. I remembered that his eyes were closed during Kenny’s execution so Heidi’s was the first he had witnessed. 

“Alright kiddies’ trial’s over, now go get some sleep lord knows I need it” Monokuma said over the loudspeaker. The elevator door opened and we used it to leave the chamber. By the time we all returned to our rooms it was three in the morning, so we all decided to just leave anything we needed to say until later in the day. As I was getting ready for sleep I heard a knock at my door, once again it was Butters still in shock over watching that execution. We ended up in my bed together somehow, at that point in the night I was too exhausted to even deduce how, all I can remember was that we talked for a bit and I woke up seven hours later with him lying next to me.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Surviving Students: 12


	9. The perspective of Death

Ten in the morning and Butters and I have finally woken up, “sorry I fell asleep in your bed again Mike” he said. 

Honestly, I didn’t mind it much, Butters is by far one of the few people here I’m closest to, besides I know he could never love someone else, his heart is forever with Kenny, at least I think it is, but who knows at this point, surrounded by death and betrayal people will cling to any love they can find. 

“It’s alright” I said. “I enjoy your company plus it’s not like sharing the bed makes it any less comfortable, the opposite actually.” 

“Mike I wasn’t dreaming last night right” Butters asked. “We had a class trial and Heidi was executed, that wasn’t just a nightmare was it?” 

“I’m afraid not, what we saw earlier was real” I answered. Butters face said it all he was feeling the despair that comes complimentary with punishment time. I put my hand on his shoulder, “don’t let it get to you, yes the death of two of our friends is painful but giving up is exactly what that freaky bear wants, you and I are gonna survive this, we’re gonna escape together; and once we’re out of here we’re gonna honor Kenny and all the others who died for the rest of our days.” 

Butters smiled, my impromptu speech seems to have done the trick. With that he returned to his own room and I got ready to go look for something to eat. I made my way to the cafeteria to see a surprising number of people already awake. 

“Morning” Tweek said. 

“Morning” I replied. 

Excluding Butters, who was on his way, and Eric, who no one seemed to know or care where he was, everyone was gathered, well everyone who was left. Butters soon appeared and took his seat next to mine. 

“Alright now that almost everyone’s here, I think it’s time we pay our respects” Wendy said. She got up and took out Nichole and Heidi’s portraits. “Token, I think you should be the one to do this.” 

She gave Nichole’s picture to Token who then proceeded to put it down momentarily. 

“Before I do, I want to read you Nichole’s last words to you all, I read them last night before I fell asleep” Token said. He began to read our fallen friend’s final words. 

“Token, if you are reading this, then I have either been murdered by one of the others or executed by Monokuma. Either way the truth has come out that I tried to or even succeeded at killing one of our friends. Please understand I didn’t want to do this, but the information that Monokuma offered coupled with the other details I’ve recently discovered about Project UA made it a necessity for the sake of knowledge. The information I have discovered was found when I analyzed the contents of the journal once more, I’ve discovered that Mike’s theory was indeed correct, the fifteen of us are the fifteen mentioned, and there is no doubt a traitor among us running this killing game. 

Monokuma’s video might not have seemed like much to you, but analysis revealed to me that in exchange for a successful murder and survival of a class trial, he’d give me the name of the mastermind as well as his location. This led me to believe that the mastermind would survive the mass execution that would befall the others. After discovering who he was, I could make him pay for his crimes, find a way to save you, and we could escape this place together. 

Token if this doesn’t work know just one more thing, after hearing Monokuma’s deal a memory fragment returned to me, Craig and Tweek aren’t the only couple on this boat, before we were brought here and our memories were wiped you and I were together as well. That’s why I did what I did, I hope you can forgive me, no matter what you think of me now, know that I did this for you, for us, so that we could be free. Nichole.” 

Shaken to the core was the nicest way to describe how everyone was feeling, Nichole took the biggest risk for the sake of Token, she deserves our respect for that despite what the outcome would’ve been had her plan succeeded. 

“She never wanted to kill, she just didn’t think she had any other choice” Token said. 

With that he put her picture on the honored fallen table next to Heidi’s. With that painful duty done, the eleven of us sat down to breakfast without Heidi breakfast was whatever you could find plus some of Tweek’s coffee. It took two trials but we finally tasted the famous coffee he and Craig have raved about. After one taste we all could understand why, the coffee tasted phenomenal. The smiles on everyone's faces washed away any sadness we had felt in that moment. 

After breakfast we spent some time talking, making each other feel a little better given what we had just endured hours before. Of course that wouldn’t last long.

“Heya crazy kids mind if I join the party” Monokuma said. The two-tone bear appeared before us sitting in one of the empty chairs. 

“Oh, great and I was just beginning to enjoy my coffee” Craig said. 

“What do you want” Tweek asked. 

“Well ya survived another trial, so that means ya get another floor, and along with that the staircase to the top pool deck” Monokuma answered. 

“What about Ultimate Research Labs, do we get any of those” Wendy asked. 

“Well the third floor is kind of boring it’s only got two because of the stairway to the pool, the winners for the labs are, Stan and Wendy” Monokuma answered. The two recipients of the new labs looked at each other a look of indifference on each of their faces. “Your welcome, how about showing a little appreciation huh.” No one answered him at this point even his existence wasn’t being acknowledged. “Whatever enjoy the new floor, ya ungrateful brats.” 

With that Monokuma vanished, “we should probably check out what we got” I said. 

“Sounds good, Wendy let’s check out our labs” Stan said. 

“Good call, why don’t the rest of you check out the pool if it’s on the top deck that means we’ll be able to step outside for longer than the few seconds we enjoy standing on our balconies” Wendy said. 

“What about Eric, no one has seen him since the trial” Butters said. 

“Who cares” Clyde said. “Not like he’s fun to have around anyway.” 

“True but if we don’t know where he is, he’s probably more dangerous than if we have eyes on him” Craig said. 

“Agreed” I said, “but going out of our way to track him down isn’t my idea of a productive day, I’d rather investigate the next floor, will deal with him later.” 

With that the eleven of us made our way to the new floor, taking the stairs up to three. Monokuma wasn’t kidding when he said this floor wasn’t anything special just two doors and a staircase leading up to the pool, the stairs leading up to the fourth floor that were next to us remained sealed off. Wendy and Stan went to their labs, the Ultimate Hacker Research Lab and the Ultimate Veterinarian Research Lab while the rest of us climbed the stairs to the pool deck. The sunlight blinded us for a few seconds, with only a small amount of sunlight available to us up until now the massive amount that came with the pool deck was a welcomed change. The pool was massive, a twenty by forty that was five feet deep. 

“Not bad, usable at least” I said. 

“Hey check it out there’s a rule sign over here” Tweek shouted. 

“Rule number 1 No swimming alone, Rule number 2 While using the pool to commit murder is authorized please refrain from using the pool solely as a place to get rid of a body, Rule number 3 Enjoy” Clyde said. “That second rule is rather ominous, you think someone would really use this place to get rid of a body?” 

“You sound like Eric Clyde, there’s not going to be another murder” Token said. 

“I thought the same thing after the first trial” Henrietta said. “But now, we’ve lost four of our classmates, who knows if or when another will happen.” 

Wendy messaged us moments later telling us all to come to her lab, she found something that we all needed to see. We made our way back down to Wendy’s lab, upon opening the door we saw a massive computer screen surrounded by what I could only describe as a server farm. 

“Nice lab Wendy” Craig said. 

“Thanks” she replied. 

She was hyper-focused on the screen and typing rapidly, there was some coded text on the screen none of us could understand Wendy excluded of course. 

“So, what’s up” I asked moving next to the chair she was sitting in, my arms crossed as I looked at the screen trying to make sense of it all and failing miserably. “You said you got something?” 

“Yeah check this out” she answered, she pulled up a word document that looked like it had been written a while ago. “It’s more information on Project UA.” 

We all gasped, another piece of the mysterious project all but one of us were a part of. 

“What does it say” Tweek asked. 

Wendy began to read the document, “All fifteen subjects have successfully arrived at site alpha, and been given the proper designated titles.” 

“Titles” Clyde interrupted, “is it referring to our ultimate titles?” 

“Probably” I answered. 

Wendy continued reading, “the online chatter we picked is confirmed to be the Remnants, authorization for activation of site Bravo has been approved as a contingency for an assault against the subjects, combat training will begin as scheduled in the morning.” 

“Anything else” Token asked. 

“Nothing relevant, it doesn’t have a roster so we don’t know who the odd one out is, but whatever we were there for we were prepping for some kind of conflict” Wendy answered. “Also, this one thing bothered me.” She pointed to the word on the screen she had highlighted, “remnants.” “The way it’s used it sounds like an organization, I’m no literary expert like Nichole was but I’d wager a guess that the Remnants is a group that was plotting our demise.” 

“Do you think whoever the extra student is was a remnant” Tweek asked panicking. 

Wendy and I looked at each other and then I looked at Tweek “it’s a possibility but we should wait and see if we can find any more info” I answered. “Anyway, Stan can we see your lab?” 

“Oh sure, it’s nothing special but sure” he answered. Stan lead us to his lab, upon entering we saw a similar layout to the nurse’s office but instead of two beds there was one animal size bed, it makes sense given the fact that Stan is the Ultimate Veterinarian. “See what’d I tell you, nothing special.” 

“I think it’s nice” Kyle said “Just like the work you do with animals.” 

Kyle was beginning to blush as did Stan, ever since Stan’s little disclosure at the trial the two of them have been giving each other little looks, you could tell there was some kind of blossoming romance there. After we finished investigating we all decided to relax and went our separate ways. Wendy returned to her lab, practically shutting herself in although with that massive computer I’m not surprised. I decided to go back up to the pool and go for a swim. I grabbed one of the bathing suits in my room and headed back up to the pool. When I got there I saw Craig, Tweek, and Kyle discussing something, eavesdropping wasn’t something I really cared for doing but I was spotted before I could retreat down the stairs. 

“Hey Mike” Tweek said. 

I waved as I began to walk over to them, “Hey guys what’s up” I said. 

“Hanging out, enjoying the sun” Craig responded. “What about you?” 

“I was just gonna test out the pool” I answered. 

“Sounds fun, can we join you” Tweek asked. 

“Of course, the more the merrier” I answered. The three of them went to their rooms to get their bathing suits, only Craig and Tweek returned a few moments later. 

“What happened to Kyle” I asked. 

“He ran into Stan and decided to hang out with him, I swear those two needs to just get a room already” Craig said. 

“Are you really one to talk” I asked jokingly. 

“Yeah, Tweek and I have done it here, we covered the camera in my room and went at it” Craig answered with the most deadpan expression I’ve ever seen. Tweek’s face turned bright red hearing his boyfriend talk about their exploits in the bedroom, 

“Craig did you have to tell him about that” Tweek asked. The two of us laughed and Tweek proceeded to roll his eyes, he was clearly done with both of our shit. He jumped in the pool splashing both of us behind him, “you two coming or what?” 

The two of us jumped in behind him, the water was very refreshing. We spent most of the day in the water and before we knew it night had fallen, as we were getting out my curiosity got the better of me. 

“Hey, what were you guys talking to Kyle about” I asked. “Whatever it was it looked serious.” 

“We want his help with something and he agreed to give it, as for what that something is will tell you all at breakfast tomorrow” Craig answered. 

With that the two of them left for their rooms although if I had to guess I assume they'll both end up in the same bed tonight. As I made my way back to my room I saw Butters waiting outside my door. 

“Hey is something wrong” I asked him. 

“No but can I talk to you about something” he asked. 

I nodded and ushered him into my room. Butters sat on my bed while I leaned against the bathroom door. 

“I had a dream last night” he began. 

“The one about Heidi’s execution, right? You mentioned it when we woke up this morning” I responded. 

“No, a different one, besides that one turned out to be real so I guess this was the only one actually” he answered. “Anyway, Kenny appeared in my dream, right here in this room.” It’s no surprise Butters saw Kenny in a dream especially since he died not so long ago. “It felt more real though, like Kenny was trying to contact me from beyond the grave, he told me that he will always love me but he said that he doesn’t want me to die alone because of his mistake.” 

“What do you think he meant by that” I asked? 

“I knew exactly what he meant by that, I’d been mulling over this question for a while now myself and he helped me answer it” Butters answered standing up. 

He walked toward me and interlocked his hand with mine, “he wanted me to act on the feelings I’ve had growing for you for a while now.” 

To say I had been caught completely off guard was the understatement of the day, although to be fair being caught off guard here is nothing new. 

“Butters are you sure you want to do this” I asked him. 

He smiled blushing, “I’m sure, Kenny would want me to move on so that’s what I’m gonna do.” 

With that Butters began kissing me and the two of us fell onto the bed, long story short Tweek and Craig weren’t the only ones who wound up in the same bed tonight.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Surviving Students: 12


	10. The Declaration of Love

Butters and I woke up the next morning, much of last night was a blur after Butters confessed how he felt but considering our clothes were still on I’m assuming nothing crazy happened last night. 

“Morning,” he said yawning. “Time for another day in hell huh?” 

I chuckled and agreed, “why don’t we go get breakfast.” 

He smiled, “sounds good to me” he replied. 

The two of us walked out the door right into Tweek and Craig. They looked a lot more happy than usual, I assumed they hooked up but this looks like more than that, maybe it has something to do with the thing they were talking to Kyle about. 

“Good morning,” Tweek said with a smile. 

“Well, both coming out of the same room huh, what did you two get up to last night huh,” Craig asked with a smirk on his face that implied he believed sexual antics occurred. 

“Sorry to disappoint you but whatever visuals your mind is giving you did not happen” I answered. 

“Bummer, you two look cute together,” he said chuckling. 

Tweek elbowed him, “don’t be weird, it’s too early for that.” 

“Fine, let’s go eat,” Craig said defeated. 

The four of us proceeded to the cafeteria to see Wendy, Stan, and Kyle.  
“Hey guys,” Wendy said, she looked like she didn’t sleep at all, again. 

“Damn Wendy were you on your computer all night,” Craig asked. 

“That’s usually what will happen once I start hours go by before I realize how long it been. I’ll be fine though once I burn out like this I recover in a day or two” Wendy answered. 

The remainder of the students joined us moments later, even Eric made an appearance. 

“Where were you all of yesterday,” Kyle asked, his tone implied he suspected Eric of some kind of negligence. 

“None of your business” he answered sitting down next to Clyde. 

“Ok now that you're all here, Craig and I want to tell you all something” Tweek said. 

He and Craig rose from their seats and interlocked their hands. 

“Given all, we’ve been through together this last week or so Craig and I realized that life is too short to have regret.” “So Tweek and I talked it over and since Kyle agreed to help us with this.” 

Craig said, the suspense was eating away at me, I looked at Butters and his eyes were lighting up as if he knew what Craig was gonna say. 

“Tweek and I are getting married, here on this boat. Kyle has agreed to be the ordained minister, evidently, he’s been ordained since middle school.” 

We all looked at Kyle, “hey, that’s the power of the internet” he said. We all got up and began taking turns hugging both of the husbands to be. 

“The wedding is taking place in a few days and you are all invited since Kyle’s lab is a temple on the inside we’re going to have it there,” Craig said. 

“I’m so happy for you guys,” I said. “If there anything any of us can do to help let us know.” 

“Hey don’t speak for all of us,” Eric said still sitting. We all turned to look at him. “I’ve got better things to do than sit around watching some gays get married.” 

“Really your gonna be that guy right now, can’t you be happy for someone else for once in your life,” Wendy asked. 

I don’t even know why she bothered it was obvious that he would respond this way. 

“Just ignore him, Wendy, he’s not worth the trouble,” Stan said.

“Whatever” Eric replied, he left the cafeteria but at that point, no one was paying attention to him any way we were all too focused on Craig and Tweek. 

“I hate to upstage you guys but I also have some news,” Kyle said looking at Stan, the two of them interlocked hands as well. 

“Oh boy are we having two weddings in a row,” Clyde asked. 

“What? No nothing like that” Stan began. “But the two of us are officially an item now, I told Kyle how I felt yesterday and he told me he felt the same way so, here we are.” 

“My oh my love is in the air on this cruise of ours,” a familiar voice said. We turned around to see Monokuma standing there. “Now before you get hostile I've actually come in peace this time.” We all looked at him not believing a word of that. “I heard about the wedding just now and I wanted to say congratulations, also a gift.” Monokuma presented them with a white and black ring. “Use them or don’t but consider them my wedding present, also if you don’t mind can I join you at the wedding?” What’s his deal he’s never acted this nice before I don’t trust him. “Look I may not act like it but there’s one thing I actually do like besides death and despair and that’s weddings.” His tone sounded surprisingly genuine. “Besides I can’t intervene anyway if I did it would be in violation of the school rules.” 

I looked at Tweek and Craig, “that’s up to them Monokuma.” Craig and Tweek looked at each other both of them had every reason to tell him to go to hell, but to my surprise, they fiancés approved. 

“I don’t mind but if you try anything or hurt Tweek in any way I’ll rip you apart,” Craig said. 

“I’ll behave I promise, bear’s honor,” Monokuma said with a smile. 

With that Monokuma left and we all looked at each other, of all the encounters with the bear this was by far the most confusing one. 

“So anyway” Tweek began breaking the awkward silence. 

“Three days, that’s how long we have until the wedding, we don’t need much help getting ready because it’s just the ceremony itself, short and sweet.” 

A wedding, and two new couples, one out, one not, by far one of the most eventful breakfasts we’ve had yet. After breakfast was done we all went our separate ways our hearts filled with excitement at the impending ceremony. I was hanging out poolside enjoying the sun with Butters when Stan came to me. 

“Hey Mike can you give me a hand with something,” he asked. 

“Yeah, no problem” I got up and followed him to his lab. Butters didn’t say anything so I assumed he fell asleep. 

We arrived at his lab and he turned to me and said “can you help me organize the meds in this cabinet? They weren’t in order and it will drive me crazy otherwise.” 

“Sure, I’ve actually found different types of medicine interesting” I answered. The two of us began to organize the medicine. “Hey Stan what’s this pink one?” 

“Careful with that one its Euthanasia, the most lethal drug for animals, it’s what they use when an animal has to be put to sleep,” Stan said. “It’s lethal to humans though not that any human has ever ingested it. I put the bottle down carefully and backed up hands in front of my chest. Stan laughed, “don’t worry it’s only lethal if it enters your bloodstream or your body.” 

I moved back to the table and put the drug in its correct spot, grabbing the one next to it. 

“What’s this one,” I asked. 

“Ketamine, it’s a strong tranquilizer, it sedates animals when they need to go into surgery, humans use it get high as well, it’s like a superweed or something I’m not totally sure what exactly it does for humans nor do I want to all I know is they get high from it” Stan answered. 

We finished putting the drugs away but before I left Stan stopped me, it turned out organizing the drug cabinet was the pretense. 

“Hey Mike can I talk to you about Kyle,” he asked. 

“Sure, what’s up” I answered. 

“Well it’s just that I really like Kyle, I do, and I’m happy we got together, but seeing Tweek and Craig and them getting married makes me wonder if maybe I should move quicker and ask Kyle to marry me.” Stan’s dilemma caught me off guard but it was a question easily answered nonetheless. “Craig told me he and Tweek were together before they showed up here, like a long time before. They probably know everything about each other. You and Kyle just got together, so enjoy each other and take it slow, it’s not a race ya know.” Stan thought about it for a moment then smiled. 

“Yeah your right, thanks, Mike.” 

“Anytime,” I said as I walked toward the door. 

I returned to my room to see Butters waiting for me. He followed me into my room and pushed me onto the bed. 

“Someone’s feeling frisky tonight,” I said smirking. 

“What can I say I want you and I want you now,” Butters said with a similar smirk. 

He turned off the lights and got back on top of me, our clothes were definitely not staying on tonight. I woke up the next morning before Butters, we had a pretty crazy night, not that it stopped him from waking up to the sound of my movement. 

“Someone’s a light sleeper,” I said to him. 

He smiled and said, “good morning to you too.” 

He moved to get out of bed and remembered his clothes were on the floor not on him, surmise it to say I got a full view. Butters went back to his room to shower, I followed his example and did the same and we both met with the others for breakfast. Two days left until the wedding and everyone seemed so cheerful, love was in the air and everyone was feeling it. 

“Hey, I got an idea guys” Clyde began. “Let’s throw those two a bachelor’s party!” 

“Bachelor’s party huh,” Stan said. “That could be fun but how would we do it, don’t you need booze and party music and all that?”

“We don’t have to get that crazy, there’s no rule about night swimming so let’s find some colored lights and take Craig and go night swimming,” Clyde said. 

“Where are we gonna find colored lights,” Token asked. 

“Actually, theirs some in the storage cabinet in the basement” Monokuma said appearing at the table. 

“Awesome thanks Monokuma” Clyde said running out of the room and making for the basement. 

Some of the others followed him leaving Butters, Henrietta, Wendy, and I behind. 

“Why are you being so nice Monokuma, you love weddings aside your being unusually happy, it’s like the despair has left your body completely,” I said. 

“I’m just feeling the pheromones you guys are dishing out that’s all” he answered. 

“Well it’s nice, maybe this’ll become permanent for you,” I said. 

“I doubt it, things will probably die down after the wedding so enjoy it while you can.” With that, he left the four of us behind. 

“What about Tweek shouldn’t he get one too,” Wendy asked. 

“The four of us can throw him one” Butters suggested. 

“That’s a good idea, but if the boys are using the pool, what should we use,” I asked. 

“I was going to suggest a picnic in the garden but, given the most recent class trial, it might be too soon for that” Henrietta said. 

“We could just ask Tweek how he feels about it” I suggested. 

“Ask Tweek what,” Tweek said behind me. He and Craig had just walked in, I won’t lie he caught me off guard. 

“Well, hypothetically speaking would you be ok hanging out in the garden, given the circumstances,” I asked. 

“I don’t see why not,” he said. “Heidi was a good friend and in actuality, I’ve been going there to remember her.” 

“That settles it then,” I said. 

“Settles what,” Craig asked. 

“Let’s just say we all have a little surprise for you two, call it a wedding gift,” Wendy said. 

“You’ll find out tomorrow night what it is.” 

The two fiancés looked at each other confused but they just shrugged it off and joined us for breakfast. Afterward, Butters, Henrietta and I made food for the party and Wendy found a blanket and basket in the storage room that the lights were in. After we finished with the food we put it in the fridge and called it a night. 

The next day only a handful of people showed for breakfast, guess the others were tired after prepping for the parties. Night fell and Wendy and Clyde sent the messages to each of the fiancés. We waited in the garden for Tweek to show up, when he finally did we surprised him with the feast the three of us prepared the night before. 

“What’s all this,” he asked. 

“Consider it your bachelor’s party” Wendy answered.

“The others are throwing Craig one up on the pool deck.” 

“You guys did all this for me,” Tweek said tearing up. 

“We wish we could do more but we worked with what we had” Butters answered. 

Tweek smiled and joined us on the floor. We spent all of three hours talking and eating, Wendy brought the pictures of some of the fallen classmates, Bebe, Nichole, and Heidi. We could tell Tweek appreciated it. Midnight rolled around and we all retired to our rooms, the big day was hours away and we all wanted to be well rested for it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Surviving Students: 12


	11. The Wedding

Everyone had a big breakfast that morning, we brought Craig and Tweek’s breakfast to their separate rooms, they decided not to see each other until they were at the altar. We all spent the day getting ready, we found suits and dresses in each of our rooms, Monokuma really went all out for us on this one. 

Finally, the hour arrived, we all gathered at Kyle’s lab, Clyde and Wendy brought the portraits of the fallen students and put them in the front row, on the other side was us all except Eric who didn’t show up. Of course, we expected that and did not care in the slightest. Craig and Tweek each asked one of us to escort them in, Clyde escorted Craig, and Wendy escorted Tweek. Just before they began the ceremony Monokuma arrived and sat behind us he really did want to see this wedding. 

“Dearly beloved” Kyle began. “We are gathered here today to join our two friends in holy matrimony if any has a reason why these two should not be wed, keep your mouth shut and get the fuck out.” 

We all laughed knowing full well that joke was meant for Eric. 

“Do you Craig, take Tweek to be your lawfully wedded husband, in sickness, and in health, for richer, and for poor, until the day we escape and the many years to follow until death do you part?”

“I do,” Craig said. 

“Do you Tweek, take Craig to be your lawfully wedded husband, in sickness, and in health, for richer, and for poor, until the day we escape and the many years to follow until death do you part?” 

“I do,” he said. 

“Then by the power vested in me by the internet I know pronounce you husbands, so fucking kiss already.” 

Craig and Tweek kissed and it was one of the longest ones I’ve ever seen. We all cheered for them even Monokuma. 

“Alright you two I’ve got one more gift for you guys” he said. 

Monokuma walked us back to the cafeteria to see a whole feast prepared. “This is my last gift to you, enjoy.”  
With that Monokuma vanished and we all began to eat the food that was prepared. Craig stood up from his chair and got everyone’s attention. 

“So, I know we made the normal vows during the ceremony but I have a little speech I made and I want to read it to the love of my life.” “Tweek, we have known each other since we were kids and at first I wasn’t sure what I was, but you helped me find myself and loved me every step of the way. While I didn’t think it would happen so soon I knew one day we’d get married. Thank you for being my soulmate, I could never love anyone else.” Tweek was crying at this point, and Craig had begun to as well, the two of them kissed once more. 

“I actually made a speech for you too Craig” Tweek said. Craig throughout the years we’ve known each other you’ve done so much for me. It wouldn’t even be overreacting to say that you saved my life when my parents almost drugged me to death you and your family came in and saved my life. Through all my anxiety and my twitching and my hyper tendencies you’ve stuck by me and when we eventually get off this ship I’m going to spend the rest of my life loving you.” 

By this point all of us were emotional, this was a true sentiment of love, even if we’re surrounded by all this despair seeing those two together brought us all so much hope. The reception lasted until nighttime and after that, we all returned to our rooms. I caught the husbands walking into Craig’s, no surprise there everyone knew that would happen, I was looking around to see if anyone else was outside and Butters ran up behind me and hugged me. He spun me around, kissed me, grabbed my hand, and lead me to his room. He threw me on his bed and got on top of me. Another day of peace and happiness another night with Butters, nothing could spoil this, is what I thought but all good things must come to an end.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Surviving Students: 12


	12. Investigation 3: The Dubious Double Homicide

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys so I know I said that the third murder case is done but I reread the trial chapter and something didn't feel right so I'm gonna change some stuff to make it more interesting, don't worry the killer won't change nor will the motive so feel free to hypothesize who the blackened is. The trial chapter should be up tonight or tomorrow since I don't have any homework due and I can just work on this freely. Like I said I'm trying to make it more interesting, hopefully it will be, in the meantime we've got some investigating to do, hint hint.

Butters and I entered the cafeteria the next morning to see only Clyde, Token, Henrietta, and Jimmy there.

“Low turnout today huh,” I asked. “Where the hell is everyone?” 

“Well the husbands are probably still in bed I doubt will see them anytime soon” Clyde joked. “Wendy was here but she went to her lab, guess she found something interesting cause she said she was there all night, Eric is probably off being stupid somewhere, and as for Stan and Kyle, I’m not sure where they are.” 

“Well after breakfast will go look around see if we can’t find them,” I said. 

The six of us finished breakfast and began to look around, Butters and I went to check the pool, Clyde and Token went to find the newlyweds and Henrietta and Jimmy went to grab Wendy and check the labs. Butters and I climbed the steps to the pool deck, as we walked towards the water something came into view, I couldn’t make it out at first but there was something at the bottom of the pool.  
As I got closer I realized what it was and I’d never forgot it as long as I lived. What I saw at the bottom of the pool was the body of the Ultimate Rabbi Kyle Broflovski handcuffed and unresponsive, I could tell right away, he was already dead. Butters screamed when he saw it and hugged me burying his face in my jacket. 

“Come on we need to go find the others,” I said. 

“What about Kyle,” he asked. 

“Will come back once we’ve found and assembled everyone” I answered. 

We walked down the stairs to see Jimmy running towards us, “Mike” he called out. 

“Jimmy there you are we’ve got a big problem, Kyle’s dead,” I told him. 

“Oh god, did you find anyone else by chance,” he asked. 

“No just Kyle” Butters answered. Clyde messaged me, he’d found Craig and Tweek, thankfully they were still alive. 

“Good it seems that everyone else is safe,” I said. 

“Yeah thank god, I think two corpses are enough for one day,” Jimmy said. 

Butters gasped with widened eyes, I quickly raised my eyes from the screen to meet his. 

“Run that one by me again,” I said. 

“Henrietta and I found Stan in his lab with a needle in his arm, he’s dead too,” Jimmy said. 

“My god, assemble everyone at Stan’s lab,” I said to Jimmy. 

“You got it,” he said. 

The three of walked back to Henrietta by then everyone had assembled at Stan’s door, Jimmy broke the news ahead of time about Stan. Henrietta opened the door and we got a first glance at his body. The body of the Ultimate Veterinarian Stan Marsh on the ground with a needle in his arm. 

“Oh no, Stan,” Wendy said her eyes watering. "Not you too!" 

“How’re we gonna tell Kyle,” Clyde asked. “Wait, where is he?” 

“About that” I began, I looked them all dead in the eye when I said this, “I’m afraid Kyle is no longer with us either, Butters and I found him handcuffed at the bottom of the pool.” 

Everyone was shocked at the news, “you’re kidding, not just one but both of them” Wendy asked. 

“Yep we’ve got us a double murder on our hands,” Monokuma said appearing behind us, “it sucks too, I mean we just had a wonderful day yesterday and now someone’s getting punished later.” 

“Monokuma I have a question for you, what if there are two killers,” I asked. 

“Well if there are two killers then whoever died first, that killer is the blackened” he answered. 

“Well, who died first,” Henrietta asked. 

“Your gonna have to figure that one out yourself but here I’ll give you the Monokuma file to get you started since there are two bodies I’ll give you twice the amount of time, good luck.” 

He disappeared and the Monokuma files for appeared for both of them on our tablets. 

“Victims are Kyle Broflovski and Stan Marsh, the Ultimate Rabbi and Veterinarian, the cause of death for Kyle was drowning, the cause of death for Stan was an overdose, time of death was during nighttime last night” I read aloud. 

“Great so all we got is the cause for each of them,” Wendy said. 

“What’s the plan Mike” Craig asked. 

“You and Clyde are going to have to fish Kyle’s body out of the pool, you two are the strongest out of all of us physically so you're the only ones who can do it. There is probably no evidence left on it but we need to check to be sure, so throw on your bathing suits, you’re going in” I answered. 

“While they're doing that I’ll take care of this crime scene, Wendy go with the guys and investigate Kyle’s body once they fished it out. Butters take Tweek, Henrietta, and Token and go search their rooms for anything let me know what you guys find.” 

“You're going to search this crime scene alone,” Butters asked. 

“I’ll be alright I can handle this myself” I assured him. 

With that everyone went off to do their separate assignments and I began looking around. A voice called out from behind me, “need a hand?” I jumped when I heard it I turned around to see Eric standing in the doorway. 

“Where the hell have you been,” I asked. 

“Not important, what is important is investigating this so we don’t end up dead” he answered. 

As much as I hated to admit it he was right, “fine just don’t touch anything, let me know what you see and I’ll handle the evidence” I said. 

The two of us began the search, we found an empty vile of Ketamine in the trash can as well as an empty vial of Euthanasia on the floor next to Stan’s arm. Add to that the needle in his arm, it looks like it was inserted perfectly, someone with medical training had to have pulled this one off and theirs a bruise on the back of his head that was concealed by his hair. 

“We’re definitely looking for a pro here Eric,” I said. 

I logged all the evidence into the evidence app and got a message from Wendy that Kyle has been fished out of the pool beside the handcuffs on him there was a puncture wound on his neck. I left Stan’s lab and headed for the staircase leading to the pool to confirm Wendy’s findings when I saw something odd. On the floor next to the trash can there was some broken glass. 

“Better safe than sorry,” I said. I logged it into evidence and continued up the stairs. “Hey guys.” No one replied at first, it was understandable after all one of our friends lay dead in front of us. 

“What’s up,” Wendy asked. “Did you need something?” 

“No, I just wanted to see the puncture wound with my own eyes” I answered. When I looked at the wound I was even more certain it was a pro we were dealing with, “looks like they hit a vein directly whoever the killer is they knew exactly what to do.” 

We reconvened in the cafeteria after collecting what we needed from the bodies, Butters’ search in the two rooms proved fruitful. 

“We found two letters one in each of their rooms addressed to them and written by the other” Token said. 

“Stan’s letter summoned him to his lab at 11pm supposedly it written by Kyle, at least that’s who signed it.” 

“Kyle’s had a similar writing,” Tweek said. “But instead of 11, it was at midnight.” 

“Whoever the killer is they coordinated this one perfectly, impressive to be sure,” Eric said. 

“Is there anything else we need to go over?” I asked. 

We all looked at each other, there was no evidence left, all that’s left now is to find the killer. 

“Alright ladies and germs march your butts over to the elevator and come on up the third trial is about to begin,” Monokuma said over the loudspeaker. 

We then made our way to the elevator walking towards I could only feel pain in my heart, Kyle and Stan had finally begun their relationship, Stan wanted to be with him for a long time and Kyle felt the same way. Whoever killed them destroyed something truly precious and now we have to avenge them. We entered the elevator and made the journey up to the chamber, the door opened and we walked in. We were determined to find the one responsible, and that quest begins now.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Surviving Students: 10


	13. The Trial of Love

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys, the third class trial is about to begin, one quick thing though, all your comments are super thoughtful and I really appreciate them. I don't want to sound like I'm asking you to feed my ego but when I redid the third chapter I realized something, I want you all to be involved so I created a Tumblr blog for the fic where you can message me directly, ask me questions about why I did certain things. Why certain people became blackened for example. 
> 
> https://www.tumblr.com/blog/southparkdanganronpacrossover 
> 
> This is the link to the blog and if you guys want to, give it a follow. If you don't want to because Tumblr isn't your thing that's cool I get it, but keep the comments coming I love hearing from you guys.
> 
> Ok enough of my rambling nonsense, time for the blackened and the spotless to face off, round 3 people let the fun begin.

Chapter 13: The Trial of Love

The shutters closed on the windows and the podiums rose from the ground once more. Joining the picture collection were Stan and Kyle’s portraits. After we all took our places Monokuma did his usual speech. 

“Now then let’s begin with a basic explanation of the class trial, during the trial you’ll present your arguments on the case, and vote for whodunit, vote correctly and only the blackened will be punished, but if you pick the wrong person, I’ll punish everyone besides the blackened and that person will get to graduate” “Alright now let the class trial begin!” 

“So, this time we have two victims, and we need to figure out not only the order they were killed in but who both of the blackened are, man this is gonna be such a headache,” Eric said. 

“Not exactly” Wendy countered. “We only need to find the first blackened whoever died first that person’s killer is who we must vote for, right Monokuma?” 

“Yep, hacker girl called it” Monokuma answered. 

“So, the first thing we need to do is figure out who died first right,” Craig asked. “Well then let’s get to it.” 

It’s starting, the third trial, determining the killer of both of my friends is my goal but like Craig said we need to figure out who died first. 

“So, who got killed first,” Tweek asked. 

“Well based on the evidence we found, I hypothesize that Stan died first,” Token said. 

“You mean the note right,” Clyde asked. 

“Is it wise to trust it though?” Wendy asked. “It could’ve been forged by the killer.” Token’s hypothesis lines up with the evidence, 

“I agree” I said. “Token and I are of the same accord, and the letter Stan received proves it.” The letter read, “I want to see you tonight and spend some time with you, meet me at your lab at 11pm, Love Kyle.” “The letter asks Stan to go to his lab for a secret rendezvous and based on the signature Kyle was the author of this note.” 

“Is it wise to trust that note?” Wendy asked. “Think about it Mike, the killer could’ve forged it in order to mess with the time of death.” 

“Also, there’s another hole in your hypothesis Token” Henrietta pointed out. “The note may have said to come at 11 but whether or not Stan was the first victim based solely on that is not enough.” 

“Damn tag team rebuttal by our two lovely ladies, sucks to be you guys,” Eric said mockingly. 

“Shut up you pig” Wendy snapped back. “But like Henrietta said it’s still too early to say Stan died first, we should discuss the matter further.” 

I suppose I might have jumped the gun on that one but there is still a chance that Stan died first, but Wendy’s right we need to keep discussing it. 

“Stan’s note might have read 11pm, but that doesn’t mean he died first.” 

“Stan could’ve written that note to throw suspicion off himself,” Craig said. “He might actually be the blackened in this case, a classic murder-suicide.” It’s not a strong rebuttal but that should help me. 

“No that’s wrong,” I said. “Hold on Craig I don’t think this was a murder-suicide.” 

“Why not,” Craig asked. 

“Because of the drug that was used on Stan, it’s a powerful and lethal drug called Euthanasia, it’s the standing equivalent of a lethal injection drug it kills instantly, they use it to put animals to sleep. At least that’s what Stan told me.” 

“If Stan killed Kyle wouldn’t it have made more sense to use the lethal drug on him” Tweek asked. 

“Exactly, that’s why I believe that Stan didn’t kill Kyle and that he’s the one who died first in this” I was cut off by Wendy, 

“I see right through you!” “Sorry, Mike but I still don’t think Stan died first.” 

“Why not,” I asked. 

“I’ll show you my logic right now,” she said back to me. 

“If Stan died first, then that means the notes were forged by the killer. Do you think the killer would be so stupid as to give us such an obvious clue? Unless it was Eric no one else here is that stupid.” 

“Besides the note what is your evidence that Kyle died first,” I asked. 

“The location of Kyle’s body for one. If the killer took out Kyle first, then all they’d have to do is drop his corpse in the pool if Stan really died first, then wouldn’t we find Kyle’s body in his lab as well he came to meet up with Stan?” Theirs a contradiction there, I have my opening. 

“I’ll cut your argument in half” I said. “By that logic there’s no way that Kyle died first, the pool rules state you can use it as a murder weapon but not as a place to dump a body, if Kyle was dead before he went in the water an alarm would’ve sounded alerting Monokuma to a body dump.” 

“Yep that’s correct” Monokuma chimed in. 

“So, then Stan did die first, and the culprit was stupid enough to make forged notes giving us a massive clue,” Wendy said. 

“That seems to be the case yes” Jimmy answered. 

“I see, so than Eric ready to confess,” Wendy asked. 

“Accusing me again Wendy,” Eric asked. “You should really change your tune, you're just singing the same song over and over.” 

“You’re the only one dumb enough to give us such a decisive clue” Wendy retorted. 

“Hold on Wendy it’s way too early to decide he’s guilty,” I said. “We’ve only just begun this case.” 

Wendy backed off, I appreciate her initiative but a wrong vote is fatal so we need to consider everything carefully. 

“So, we now know that the culprit we need to find is Stan’s killer,” Jimmy said. 

“Yes, but I’d also like to uncover Kyle’s killer as well, whether or not they are the same person, Kyle deserves justice as well,” I said. 

“How about we go over the causes of the deaths next” Clyde suggested. 

“That sounds like a good idea” Butters agreed. 

“So how did Stan die,” Clyde asked. 

“Well obviously it was the needle in his arm,” Eric said. 

“But how did the needle get in his arm,” Tweek asked. “Stan didn’t seem like the suicidal type.” 

“The killer probably pinned Stan down and forced the needle into his arm,” Jimmy said. Wait for theirs something wrong with that theory. 

“No that’s wrong” I said. “Sorry, Jimmy but I don’t think he was pinned down, I checked the body and there was a bruise to the back of Stan’s head it was covered by his hair so it was easily missed. 

“Do you think the blow to the head is what killed him?” Henrietta asked. 

“No, it was definitely the needle, the killer probably knocked Stan out and then gave him the hotshot of Euthanasia. 

“I don’t know Mike, I still think that Stan killed himself,” Craig said. “Based on the position of the body and the vial of Euthanasia it seems more likely that Stan killed himself and someone else K.Od Kyle.” 

“I’m with Craig on this one,” Wendy said, “Stan died first, but it was probably by his own hand.” 

I could see that Jimmy, Clyde, and Eric agreed with Craig, meanwhile, myself, Butters, Tweek, Token, and Henrietta didn’t buy into the suicide theory. 

“Stop the presses” Monokuma shouted. “Looks like you guys are split down the middle again, which means it’s time for the third team debate. Today’s debate topic: Was Stan’s death a suicide?” It’s Mike, Butters, Tweek, Token, and Henrietta vs. Craig, Clyde, Eric, Jimmy, and Wendy.” 

Monokuma pressed the button on his console and the podiums began moving to their team debate formation. 

“Stan used the drug on himself,” Craig said. 

“But then why would there be a bruise on the back of his head” I countered. 

“He probably bumped his head on a table or something,” Clyde said. 

“That seems like way too much of a coincidence if you ask me,” Tweek said. 

“The dude probably took himself out and then the killer stole the stuff they needed to kill Kyle afterward,” Eric said. 

“But we never found another needle that matches the puncture wound,” Butters said. 

“Stan probably killed himself because all of this became too much for him,” Wendy said. 

“If he was really gonna off himself he wouldn’t have started going out with Kyle” Henrietta countered. 

“But who could’ve snuck up on Stan in his own lab” Jimmy asked. 

“He probably was waiting for Kyle so he lowered his guard when he heard the door open,” Token said. The five of us did not waiver in our argument for even a second “This is our answer” the five of us said in unison. 

“So, can we all agree now that Stan was murdered, that he definitely did not kill himself,” I asked. 

“I guess so,” Wendy said. The others nodded in agreement. 

“So now that we know the death order, let’s move onto the murder weapon,” Craig said. 

“So, the murder weapon for Stan, was obviously the needle in his arm, but what was used to knock him out?” 

“Was there any other weapons found at the scene” Tweek asked. 

“Nothing we could find,” Eric said. “The killer probably took it with them.” 

“Without that weapon,” Wendy said. “We have no idea about who the killer could be.” Actually, there might be something we can infer from the needle. 

“No that’s wrong,” I said. “Wait Wendy there is something we do know about the killer in this case already.” 

“And what exactly is that,” Wendy asked. 

“Whoever killed Stan had to have some kind of degree of combat and medical training” I answered. 

“That’s the only way they could insert the needle precisely into Stan’s arm and hit the vein, not to mention directly hit Kyle’s carotid artery.” “So, if we can deduce who among us has some degree of medical knowledge, we can discover the identity of the killer.” 

“Perhaps we should go over the alibis then, if we know who has an alibi then we can determine who's got medical expertise from those who remain,” Token said. 

“Um before we do that I have a request,” Butters said. “Can we review Kyle’s case as well?” 

“Why should we bother doing that,” Eric said. “Stan was killed first so it’s his killer we have to find, Kyle’s death is meaningless. Tell me Butters did you ask that to distract us?” 

“His death was not meaningless you son of a bitch” Butters shouted. “Kyle was our friend, we’ve gotten to know each other so much in the time we spent here, how can you say our friend’s death was meaningless?” 

Butters… he’s right Kyle should be given justice as well. 

“I agree with Butters on this one, Kyle deserves justice as well and looking into his case may help us figure out Stan’s killer.” 

“Thanks, Mike,” Butters said with a smile. 

“Alright so let’s look at Kyle’s case then,” Token said. “Let’s start off with the facts we know so far.” “Kyle was summoned to Stan’s lab at midnight,” Token said. “Presumably by the killer pretending to be Stan.” 

“He probably made his way to Stan’s lab around midnight like the note instructed,” Henrietta said. 

“When he got there” Clyde started “he was probably nailed in the neck by the same object that was used on Stan.” Not exactly, he’s made an error. 

“No that’s wrong.” “Hang on Clyde, there was no bruising on Kyle, the only wound was the puncture on his neck.” 

“So, the killer hit the carotid artery on the first try,” Clyde asked. “That seems like a tough shot for anyone to hit.” 

“It’s actually almost impossible, only someone with black ops level combat training could be that precise,” I said. 

“You sure know your stuff Mike I’ll give you that,” Clyde said. 

“I watch a lot of cop shows” I explained. 

“Gentlemen if we could please move on we have a killer to catch,” Wendy said. 

“You’re right, let’s continue,” I said. 

“So, what caused Kyle to pass out” Jimmy asked. 

“Hitting him with just a needle doesn’t seem like the type of thing that would make someone pass out.” 

“Was there something in the needle when it hit Kyle?” Tweek asked. 

“There was probably some kind of drug in the syringe” Craig answered. He’s right and I know just what it was. 

“I agree,” I said. “Craig is right there was a drug in the needle that was used on Kyle, it’s called Ketamine I found a vile of it in the trash can in Stan’s lab, it’s a tranquilizer knocks someone out in a matter of seconds.” 

“How do you know that,” Eric asked. 

“The other day I was helping Stan reorganize the medicine cabinet in his lab, that’s when he told me about the Ketamine and the Euthanasia.” 

“So, all the killer had to do was inject him with the Ketamine and he’d be completely out of commission,” Jimmy said. 

“Exactly, ketamine is a tranquilizer it has to be powerful,” I said. 

“I think I might have an idea of what happened next,” Henrietta said .“If you will all indulge me for a moment.” “So once Kyle was out cold, the killer finished the job and killed him by dragging him to the pool and let the water finish the job.” My theory is a little different and the evidence backs it up. 

“No that’s wrong!” I said. “Kyle was definitely alive when he went into the pool.” 

“How do you know,” Henrietta asked. 

“As we said earlier, the pool rules state you can’t dump a corpse in it, therefore Kyle was definitely alive when he went into the water.” 

“Oh, that’s right I forgot about that, sorry,” Henrietta said. 

“So, we’ve pretty much pieced together Kyle’s murder at this point,” Wendy said. “Kyle goes to Stan’s lab, he sees Stan’s corpse, the killer sneaks up behind him and hits him in the carotid artery. Then drags him to the pool cuffs him so he can’t escape and drops him in letting the water take care of the rest.” “Now all we need to do is find alibis for both murders.” 

“Butters are you ok if we go back to Stan’s case now” Tweek asked. 

“Yeah, thanks everyone, we’re one step closer to finding the killer, I can feel it.” 

“In that case let’s move on to alibis,” Token said. “Who’d like to go first?” 

“Well Tweek and I were in my room all night, we were, well consummating the marriage,” Craig said with a very over-sexualized smirk. 

“Too much information geez,” Eric said. 

“I can vouch for that” Clyde said. 

“I heard them in my room, Tweek is quite the screamer.” 

Tweek’s face turned red at the comment and Eric reiterated himself “To. Much. Information!”  
“Um anyway, moving on, I was in my room last night,” I said. 

“Anyone who can vouch for you on that one” Wendy asked. 

“Well Butters was in bed with me so I can say yes to that” I answered. 

“You two slept together,” Craig asked. “Damn, I didn’t call that one.” 

“Yeah well, we were in bed all night, I got up to use the bathroom at like 3am and Mike was lying in bed sound asleep,” Butters said. 

“The same can be said for Butters, I got up to use the bathroom like a half hour later,” I said. 

“So, in that case, those two are in the clear as well,” Tweek said. 

“I’m assuming the rest of you were in your rooms as well, it was nighttime after all,” Craig said. 

“Hold on a second, I’m not so sure we can trust the happy couples” Wendy said.

“What do you mean” Token asked.

“Clyde, did you hear Craig and Tweek going at it all night” Wendy asked.

“Now that you mention it after a while the two of them stopped, I assume they fell asleep” Clyde answered.

“Or went out to commit murder” Wendy said.

The rest of us were shocked at Wendy’s accusation, that shock turned to disbelief a moment later.

“Hold on Wendy, you can’t just accuse us without proof” Craig said, he was getting understandably aggressive.

“Yeah unless you got proof, back off sweetie” Tweek said in an equally aggressive tone that had more sass to it.

“Think about it everyone, if one of them killed them both the other could alibi them out or even help with the murder” Wendy said. “We’d all think they were asleep post loud sex but in truth they were on the move committing murder.” 

“Does anyone have any evidence to the contrary” Wendy asked. 

I looked around for a moment and no one spoke, suspicion on the husbands was getting stronger but I can’t believe they would kill right after they got married. I need to help them, even if it means I have to create some evidence of my own. 

“Tell me boys, which one of you killed Stan” Wendy asked.

“Neither of us did, we were in our room the whole time” Tweek answered. 

“Don’t play dumb, you were jealous of Stan and Kyle and mad that they tried to upstage your big announcement about your wedding” Wendy said. 

“That’s a flimsy motive for murder Wendy” Craig said.

“Well unless there is any evidence to the contrary there’s no denying you killed them” Wendy said. I have to help them even if it means gambling it all on a lie. 

“With this lie I’ll reveal the truth” I said. “Hold on Wendy I can vouch for them, last night I got up to go get a drink from the cafeteria and I saw the two of them in the cafeteria having some of the leftovers from the wedding.” 

“And you just happened to remember this right now huh” she asked.

“Yes, is that a problem” I shot back at her. Craig and I looked at each other, he knew I was lying but he went with it regardless. 

“Mike is correct, Tweek and I were hungry after our wild night of passion so we got up and got some food” Craig said.

“I saw them leave as I went in, I guess they didn’t notice me” I said. 

“Well I guess that clears them up” Jimmy said.

“Yes, it does, but now Mike is under suspicion” Wendy said back to him.

“What do you mean Wendy” Butters shouted. "I told you Mike and I were in bed together most of the night except for the bathroom and when he left to get a drink, I’m a light sleeper so when he got up I woke up, I didn’t fall back asleep until he got back and he was gone five minutes at the most, there’s no way he had time to kill them both upstairs and come back down in five minutes."

“I’m with Butters on this one, Mike’s probably one of the least suspicious among us, I’ll believe in his innocence” Craig said. 

Everyone nodded in agreement, and eventually Wendy backed down. 

“Fine, by the way what happened to the needle that was used on Kyle” she asked. “We only found the one.” 

“I found some glass on the floor near the trashcan at the bottom of the staircase leading to the pool, most likely the killer shattered it after the deed was done in hopes of destroying the evidence,” I said. 

“Now that we got that pointless detail out of the way can we get back the alibis please,” Eric said. 

“So, getting back to the matter of alibis, we were all asleep since it was nighttime right,” Jimmy said. 

“Presumably, but who was the last one to see either of the boys alive,” Butters asked. 

“I was,” Wendy said. 

“I saw Stan go into his bedroom as I entered mine, that was the last time I saw him alive.” Her statement aligns with what she told me, I need to back her up. 

“I agree,” I said. “Wendy was indeed the last one to see Stan alive, it was right before you went into your room, right?” 

“Yeah, Stan had just gone into his room as well,” Wendy said. 

“So, what should we do now,” Craig asked. “If no one has an alibi other than sleeping aren't we stuck.” 

Craig is right, we’re running out of clues and I have no idea who the killer might be. Think, come on Mike think, there’s got to be something you missed. 

“So, what do we do now, does anyone have any other clues left,” Craig asked. 

“I don’t think so” Jimmy answered. 

“Then let’s review everything we’ve gone over up to this point” Token suggested. 

“I doubt we have time for that” Henrietta said. 

“Are we really out of clues, please if someone has any detail they’ve left out speak now, otherwise we’re all going to die here?” Wendy said. 

Wait there is one more clue left, that’s right I remember now. 

“No that’s wrong,” I said. “There is one clue left, it slipped my mind until now but it just might crack this case wide open. Clyde, what did you tell me this morning at breakfast, can you recall?” 

“Yeah I remember, I said that Wendy came in earlier looking exhausted, she told me she was in her lab all night.” 

“Wait what did you say,” Craig said. 

“Wendy was in her lab all night based on what she told me this morning” Clyde repeated. Craig picked up on what I had just realized as well. 

“Wendy you just said you were asleep, but you lied didn’t you,” I said. 

“I don’t know what you're talking about” she responded. 

“I think you do” I snapped back at her. “You were in your lab on the third floor last night, the same floor that Stan and Kyle were killed on weren’t you.” 

“You really think I’d kill not one but two of our classmates in cold blood,” she asked. “All you’ve got is Clyde’s word on this, you need much more then that if you want to convict me, my friend.” 

She’s right, there’s got to be something I missed, something that she’s said or done up to this point that can help. Think back, think back, my memory flashed back to when we first found Stan’s body, before I announced to the others that Kyle was dead, what was it that Wendy said, “Oh no Stan, not you too.” That’s it that’s what she said, 

“Wendy when we found Stan’s body what did you say” I asked. “What were your exact words?” 

“Well, let me think, I believe it was something along the lines of, oh no Stan, not you too” she said. 

“That’s what I thought, you were upset I know, we all were, but you too” I asked. “At that point, you shouldn’t have known Kyle was dead.” 

“If you must know I was referring to our other friends who have departed already,” Wendy said. 

“Sorry that seems like too much of a coincidence if you ask me” I responded. “There’s something else, when I came to examine Kyle’s body you seemed more calm than usual given the fact that you were searching your dead friend’s corpse for evidence. I can only assume that it is because it was your own handy work, I also assume that is why we didn’t find any more evidence on the body, you took anything that we could find right?” 

“Of course, not” she answered. “Think back, when we found evidence on the body, there was nothing to hide because there was not much there to begin with. I’ve just about had it with your accusations Mike and I’m gonna stop them right here, right now. 

“If I’m the culprit, and I’ve hidden evidence like you said” Wendy started. “Then how come we found evidence on his body, the handcuffs were there in plain view after all.” 

“She does have a point,” Tweek said. 

“And another thing, at what point do you think I acquired said restraints anyway” she asked rhetorically. It’s not like there is a place on this ship that has handcuffs, so we don’t even know where they came from in the first place.” There’s only one place that the handcuffs would be. 

“No that’s wrong,” I said. “You’re wrong Wendy we can safely assume where the cuffs came from and if I’m right then it I’ll also know exactly how you were able to acquire them.” 

“Oh, and where pray tell do you believe the cuffs came from,” Wendy asked. 

“Well there were a few items missing from the storage closet, obviously we knew that the blanket, basket, and lights were missing because we used them for the bachelor parties and had yet to return them, but there was a small item missing from the closet as well, and based on one key piece of evidence we can safely say that’s where the handcuffs were before they ended up on Kyle. 

“What evidence” Craig asked. 

“Well before the trial started I had a feeling in my gut, so I went to look at the storage closet that’s when I noticed the dust imprint, it was in the shape of handcuffs, two pairs.” 

“You neglected to mention that you searched it, Mike,” Token said. 

“I logged the evidence into the app, it was right before the trial started however so you guys might have missed it.” I replied. “But your right I should’ve mentioned it sooner, I apologize.” 

“What’s done is done, let’s just move on,” Clyde said. “Even if the handcuffs were in the storage closet, that in no way proves it was Wendy who took them.” 

“Actually, there is, think back to when we were prepping for the bachelor parties Clyde,” I said. “Who from your group grabbed the lights from the storage closet?” 

“Umm it was me, but there were a few so Token grabbed the others” Clyde answered. 

“Seeing as he was the only other guy there that is still with us, Jimmy did you see either of them grab anything while trying to be stealthy about it,” I asked. 

“Nope, not that I saw” Jimmy answered. “And you are right, and that is because there is no way to hide handcuffs in a party light, but it’s easy to hide it in a picnic basket and then move it into your pocket afterward,” I said. Wendy was starting to get on edge at this point I could see it in her eyes. 

“Well Wendy, got anything to say,” Craig asked. “We know you took the handcuffs, the evidence is too overwhelming to deny that now, so if you have anything to say, now’s the time.” 

“Alright fine, I admit it, I killed Kyle,” Wendy said. We were all a little taken aback we didn’t think she’d be so direct about this. 

“Wait what did you say,” Tweek asked shocked. Wendy’s platform moved towards the middle as she spoke again, 

“I struck Kyle in the carotid artery with the ketamine, dragged him to the pool, cuffed him and tossed him in, once he was under the water I let it take care of the rest. Not that any of this matters, however.” Wendy faced had gone from panicked to smug and almost evil. 

“Of course, it matters Wendy, you killed our classmate and now your gonna pay the price,” Butters said. 

“No, I won’t, because the blackened is Stan’s killer, not Kyle’s,” Wendy said. “I only killed Kyle, Stan’s death was not my doing.” 

“As if we’d believe you, your credibility is completely lost at this point,” Token said. “Remember Stan was already dead at the point when Kyle was killed. Who else but you could’ve done it.” 

“If you believe that to be true then go ahead and vote for me, but remember if your wrong we all die and the real killer goes free, do you really wanna take that chance,” Wendy said. The Wendy I had come to know, the one who had helped me lead the trials and investigate, she was no more, this new Wendy, was dark and cruel, pure malice. 

“I don’t think it’s a good idea to vote for Wendy just yet, we need to be a hundred percent sure on this one,” Craig said. 

“For once you and I agree on something Craig,” Eric said. 

“No way, she killed them both, let’s cast our vote and send her up the river already,” Tweek said. 

“I’m with Tweek on this one,” Butters said. 

“So am I,” Token said. Clyde, Jimmy, and Henrietta were also in agreement. 

“Freeze right there” Monokuma shouted. “Oh wow, you're stuck again huh, twice in one trial that’s a first. “Welp you know what that means it’s time for another team debate. For round two’s debate topic, we have the question of Vote for Wendy. On the not yet side we have Mike, Wendy, Craig, and Eric, on the vote now side we have Butters, Tweek, Token, Clyde, Jimmy, and Henrietta. Let's Begin!" 

“Wendy killed Stan and Kyle,” Butters said. 

“We don’t know for sure that Wendy killed Stan,” Craig said. 

“She forced her way into Stan’s lab and gave him the lethal injection,” Tweek said. 

“We can’t completely link the evidence to her yet,” I said. 

“So, Wendy killed Kyle shouldn’t that make her the blackened” Jimmy asked. 

“Not yet, there might be a second blackened we need to find,” Eric said. 

“She was in Stan’s lab at some point to get the ketamine, she probably killed him then” Token said. 

“No, I went into his lab before he arrived and stole the ketamine and the needle used” Wendy said. 

“She’s confessing to the second murder so that we won’t believe she did the first, thereby hiding behind the first death rule” Henrietta said. 

“That’s impossible, we didn’t know that we’d have to find Stan’s killer until we arrived in this courtroom” Wendy said. 

“We’ve already got a confession from Wendy on Kyle’s death, so can’t we just vote now” Clyde said. 

“No not yet, we have to be one hundred percent sure on who Stan’s killer is before we vote” I answered. Even though we were sided with a killer our resolve did not break, “this is our answer” the four of us said in unison. 

“Everyone please” I started. “Yes, Wendy did kill Kyle and for that we will never forgive her, but until we know with a hundred percent certainty that she also killed Stan we can’t vote.” 

“So, all we have to do is link her to Stan’s murder then we should be good to go right” Jimmy asked. 

“If she’s Kyle’s killer” Eric said. “There’s always the option that theirs a second blackened in this case that killed Stan.” 

“Well you’ve been the most suspicious one these past few days Eric” Butters said. “If anyone else is the culprit it’s probably you.” 

“I’m not the only one with a shaky alibi you know” Eric countered. 

“There is also the possibility that Wendy killed Stan when she took the ketamine from his lab” Token said. 

“So many different options, oh man I don’t know what to do” Tweek said. 

“Just relax Tweek the answer is close, we’re almost done here” Craig said. “Right Mike?” 

Way to throw me under the bus bro, but what did he mean by that is he trying to tell me something, what could it be that he’s already figured it out. 

“The facts in this case line up perfectly” Craig said. “In order to get the ketamine from Stan’s lab, the culprit would need to know that he wouldn’t be in there.” 

“That’s why the culprit wrote the notes in order to give themselves time to sneak in to get the ketamine” Token said. 

“Right, but the culprit didn’t realize Stan was in his lab already, they struck him and used the Euthanasia on him” Craig said. 

“So then why did we find a note for Stan in his room” Clyde asked. 

“If I had to guess I’d say the killer pre-wrote the notes ahead of time in an effort to pin the crime on Stan” Craig answered. Craig’s on a roll right now and he’s right the notes handwriting matches. 

“That statement holds true” I said. “Craig’s right, the handwriting is the same on both, which means whoever called Kyle out at midnight called Stan out ahead of time.” 

“Why does that matter” Eric asked. 

“It actually is the crucial piece of evidence that wraps this case up” I answered, “and it leads to believe that Wendy is guilty of both murders. She almost got away with it too, if she had gotten the Ketamine before she planted Stan’s note she might’ve gotten away with this murder. She would’ve killed Stan and the suicide theory would’ve looked a lot more plausible. How about it Wendy am I right” I asked. 

“Heh, you think your so clever don’t you” she replied. “You think you’ve got this one all figured out huh well I’m not going down without a fight.” “I’m the culprit? Please your evidence is circumstantial at best, while it’s true I killed Kyle, a freaking note is not enough to prove I killed them both.” 

“The handwriting says it all, the killer in this case has to be responsible for both seeing as they set it up” Craig said. 

“How many times do I have to tell you I didn’t kill Stan” Wendy shouted. “And there’s no way to prove otherwise!” No, she’s wrong and she just sealed her fate. 

“With this your fate is sealed” I said. “The notes tell us more than just the handwriting, it also confirms your guilt.” 

“What’re you talking about” Wendy shouted. “The note that was in Kyle’s room was found on his dresser, the note in Stan’s was still on the floor right next to the door.” 

“So, what, all that tells us is that Stan never went to his room” Wendy said. 

“No, it tells us that you lied about seeing him alive at his door, and it also tells us that he was in his lab when the rest of us went to bed, meaning when you went to get the ketamine for Kyle you heard him in there and took him out in order to get what you needed.” I said. “I’ve put it all together now it’s just a matter of spelling it all out.”

“Let’s hear it Mike, end this crazy trial” Clyde said. I got it all figured out, now to finish the job. 

“The truth of the case is revealed!” “The crimes in this case were committed after we had all gone to sleep, the culprit slipped two notes under Stan and Kyle’s respective doors. I can only assume the culprit had planned to kill Kyle and let Stan take the fall. 

After placing the notes under the doors, the culprit headed for the Ultimate Veterinarian’s lab, what they didn’t realize is that Stan was already in his lab. Knowing their plan had already been put into motion the culprit did not waiver, they quietly entered Stan’s lab and stuck him over the head. Once Stan was out cold the culprit grabbed the needle and the euthanasia and gave Stan a hotshot of the lethal poison. With Stan dead the culprit set up the murder scene to make it look like a suicide. With the stage set, the culprit grabbed the needle, put the ketamine into it, and threw out the empty vial and left Stan’s lab. 

The culprit probably returned to their own lab to grab the handcuffs that they had took days prior. They lied in wait for Kyle to arrive and just as he was about to enter Stan’s lab, the culprit struck Kyle, hitting his carotid artery, once the ketamine was in his system Kyle was immobilized and most likely unconscious. The culprit dragged his body up to the pool cuffed his hands and feet and threw him in the pool. Since the drug hadn’t killed him the culprit didn't need to worry about an alarm going off, they simply left Kyle to drown. 

After leaving the pool the culprit shattered the needle they had used in the hopes of destroying evidence however they missed a piece near the trash can next to the stairs. This nearly perfect crime was committed by you, Wendy Testaburger the Ultimate Hacker.” 

Wendy didn’t say a word she just stood their eyes closed hands crossed as if everything I just said was untrue. 

“It’s over Wendy, you’ve lost.” She chuckled maliciously, “I’ve lost huh, if I had a dollar for every time I’ve heard that one” she said monotonously, “Monokuma may we move onto voting time please, I’m ready now.” 

“Heh ya got it honey, jurors commence voting” Monokuma shouted. 

My console lit up and without hesitation I placed my vote for Wendy, her motive may be unclear but her lack of remorse is telling. A moment later the screen appeared and showed the results, it was unanimous this time, confirming my theory and decision on this case. 

“Who will be chosen as the blackened, will you make the right choice or the dreadfully wrong one.” That same white wheel we were all familiar with appeared next to Monokuma once more, every face that belonged to a killer or a victim with the exception of this case’s killer was removed. A black bar spun around three times before slowing down and landing on Wendy’s face. 

“Three in a row y'all are right again, the killer behind these deadly double deaths is the dubiously deceitful Wendy Testaburger aka the Ultimate Hacker, try saying that three times fast” Monokuma said. All of us looked at Wendy with disgust, she just started laughing a look of pure insanity entered her eyes. 

“Wendy, why did you do it, what drove you to this” I asked. 

“Well I’m about to die anyway so I guess it doesn’t really matter” she answered. “I did it for the one I loved.” 

“The one you loved” Craig asked. 

“Yes, it took me a while but I finally remembered my beloved, the man I dreamed about spending the rest of my life with” Wendy answered. 

“So, you killed in order to escape so you could be with him” Token said. 

“Not exactly” she said back. “The person I love is Stan!” We were all shocked by this revelation. 

“Wait what” Butters shouted. “Then why the hell did you kill him?!” 

“Because he chose Kyle over me” Wendy shouted back. “I found a file on my computer it had photos, photos of me and Stan together. Stan forgot about it when our memories were wiped and he was tricked by Kyle to believe that they were together.” 

“It still doesn’t explain why you killed them” Craig said. “I didn’t want to kill Stan, originally my plan was to kill Kyle and then afterward reveal the truth to Stan, but when I went to get the supplies from his lab I saw him already in there he was daydreaming, fantasizing about that damn redhead. So, I decided that if I can’t have him no one can and.” 

Wendy stopped short she looked down at the ground then back at us and when she did I saw a look in her eye that I’ve never seen in any human a look of pure insanity. 

“I killed him! I killed the man I love and I’d do it again if it meant that damn redhead would suffer!” 

“Then why kill Kyle, leaving him here alone without Stan is a way worse way to make him suffer” Clyde asked. 

“Well by that point the plan was already in motion, and the rush I got from killing Stan it was incredible, this feeling, it’s the feeling of true despair, and it’s absolutely euphoric” Wendy said.  
I’ve never seen anyone like this, she has gone truly insane. 

“And now I’ll get to join Stan in the next world!” 

“What if Kyle’s there too” Jimmy asked.

“Then I’ll just kill him again of course” Wendy answered. With that she laughed maniacally “Monokuma, what’re you waiting for execute me already, let me feel true despair so I can use it crush anyone who gets in my way in my next life!” Monokuma laughed in a maniacal tone that matched Wendy’s 

“Alright I’m fired up now, and I’ve prepared a very special punishment for the Ultimate Hacker Wendy Testaburger” he said. 

“I’m coming Stan I’ll be there soon” Wendy said with her final words. 

“Let’s give it everything we got it's” Monokuma began. “PUNISHMENT TIME” Monokuma and Wendy said in unison. 

Then just like with Kenny and Heidi, Monokuma hit the red button with his gavel and the screen behind him lit up once more. “Wendy has been found guilty, commencing execution.” The floor under Wendy opened and she began to fall, as she did we exchanged one last glance at each other and the look in her eye was pure insanity. Wendy fell into a dark chamber and as the camera panned out we saw that she was trapped in a giant computer, that’s when Monokuma appeared. 

A graphic lit up on the screen saying “Anti-Virus Software, Ultimate Hacker Wendy Testaburger Execution: Executed” suddenly three Monokuma heads appeared on the screen and began to move towards Wendy, she ran and they gave chase. I couldn’t tell what she saw from her point of view but it must not have been what we saw because she jumped into the wastebasket icon. As she did the view on the screen changed and we now saw two different images, one of the monitor as a whole and one of Wendy inside the wastebasket which from the inside looked like the bottom of a well. 

Monokuma opened up a folder labeled student files and highlighted all the deceased students and Wendy’s and moved them into the wastebasket which began the deletion process. Meanwhile from the screen we saw Wendy on the files began dropping like Tetris blocks one by one until she was completely surrounded, and then the final file dropped on her head crushing her, the printer turned on next to the computer and printed out a picture of Wendy’s body crushed and covered in blood. 

The execution was complete, Wendy was no longer among the living but there was one difference between this execution and the others. Rather than sadness I felt nothing, no feelings at all. Wendy didn’t kill for any noble reason and one could argue her death was justified but still I should at least feel something. I looked around at the remaining survivors, only nine remained now, the others had similar expressions to my own none of them seemed sad about Wendy’s death. In all honesty the only thing we felt any form of emotion for was the loss of Stan and Kyle. 

“Let’s go guys” I said to them. “There’s nothing left for us to do here.” 

We made our way into the elevator and slowly began our descent I honestly had lost track of time between the investigation and the trial but as we left the elevator the clock read 8pm. Our entire day was shot on this investigation and trial but justice being served was at the very least. 

“I don’t know about you guys but I’m exhausted I think we should just call it a night” I said. 

“Agreed” Craig said. 

With that everyone dispersed, some went to the cafeteria and others went straight to bed. Butters followed me into my room but nothing excessive happened. We ended up just falling asleep trying to forget this hellish day even occurred.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Surviving Students: 9


	14. The Secrets of UA

Three trials into this game and the fourth floor was unlocked and with it came with new accessible labs. Along with mine came, Butter’s Token’s, Eric’s, Craig’s, Henrietta, and Kenny’s, unfortunately the rules forbade us from entering his. Along with the rest of the labs came the gym and the computer lab. Clyde joined me in I investigated my lab while the rest of the remaining students checked out the other labs as well the computer lab and gym. The inside of my lab was a carbon copy of the oval office a perfect lab for the Ultimate Politician. 

“Nice lab Mike” Clyde said. 

“Thanks” I replied as I sat down at the replica of the resolute desk. I opened all of the drawers and found some more information on project UA. 

“Clyde check this out, we got some more info, and it’s a lot.” Clyde came around the desk and read it over my soldier, it was another journal entry. 

“We’ve confirmed that one of the subjects is communicating with a confirmed member of the Remnants, however before we could interrogate him the Remnants attacked site alpha, all subjects have been successfully moved to site Bravo including the spy. Omega site has been activated and the spy has been isolated from the remaining subjects.” 

“Great so we don’t only have to deal with the mastermind but we also have to assume one of us is working for him or at least was before we got kidnapped” Clyde said. 

“There’s another entry an earlier one” I said. “Parents of the subjects continue to oppose project UA, if we cannot get the subjects willingly, the director has authorized the use of force to bring the subjects into our care.” 

“Jesus Christ” Clyde said. “So, whoever was running this project kidnapped us?” 

“Looks that way” I said. 

A message came through on my handbook, Token had summoned everyone to the computer lab, he found something we all needed to see. We gathered in the computer lab, even Eric showed up. 

“Alright Token we’re all here what do you got” Craig asked. 

“There’s an article saved to the computers, it’s an article from back home in south park” Token answered. 

I read the article heading, “Purple Smoke Engulfs Town Overnight, takes Fifteen Residents.” 

Everyone gasped, the article titled confirmed what Clyde and I had read in my lab, the project heads had kidnapped us and it looks like this was the method they used. 

“So, they gassed us and grabbed us” Henrietta said.

“Pretty much, the journal entries in my lab confirmed it” I said. 

“Journal entry” Tweek asked. 

“Yeah two of them, long story short the remnants attacked site alpha, they moved us to the bravo site and theirs a spy who was working with the remnants” I answered. 

“So, wait does that mean we have two enemies among us” Jimmy asked. 

“Not sure, there’s a chance but considering that we’re down to almost half of our original class if there is a spy working with the mastermind he or she could already be dead” I answered. 

Suddenly Monokuma came over the loud speaker, “howdy everyone meet me in the gym I’ve got something to show ya.” 

“Great as if we didn’t have enough to figure out already” Craig said, “Let’s go guys.” 

We made our way to the gym down the hall, upon entering we discovered it was rather lackluster. Picture your typical middle school gym with a subpar stage, bleachers on each end and two basketball hoops on each side of the court parallel with the stage. 

On said stage was the bear of despair himself waiting for us, “geez about time you crazy kids showed up I’ve been waiting forever” Monokuma said. 

“Well we’re here so what do you want” Craig asked. 

“I’ve got something for you guys, behold this” the bear answered. He held up a diamond shaped gemstone as black as the night sky, it was the shiniest thing I’ve ever seen. 

“Nice rock” Henrietta said. 

“This is more than just a rock little lady” Monokuma answered “it’s a reanimation stone, with it you can bring one of your dead classmates back to life!” 

All of us gasped in shock, could such an item really exist? No, it’s impossible this is the real world nothing that powerful could exist, it’s beyond the realm of science. 

“Why would you give us such a powerful item” Token asked. 

“Isn’t it obvious, an extra student back in the game means an extra murder, what better way to keep this killing game going” Monokuma answered menacingly. 

“Enough I can’t take it anymore” Jimmy said. 

Monokuma looked at him “what’s the problem?” 

“This killing game has gone on long enough, the way I see it guys all we gotta do is drop this monochrome build a bear reject and we’re good to go” Jimmy said. 

“Oh, is that right you gonna destroy me and end the killing game” Monokuma asked in a condescending tone. He walked over to Jimmy and looked up at him, “good luck you can’t even stand without those crutches how’re you gonna kill me? In all honesty I thought you’d be dead by now.” 

Jimmy raised one of his crutches and slammed it down on Monokuma’s face pinning him to the floor. “Keep your mouth shut and just die already.” 

“Big mistake kid” Monokuma said. “If you read the school rules you’d know that one of them is students cannot harm the principle and if they do they’ll face punishment. Time for you to receive yours fool, impale him demon spikes!” 

With that spikes rose from the ground and struck Jimmy in the chest and the neck he was dead instantly the spike holding his body in the air by his head. The spike retracted and dropped his lifeless body to the ground. Henrietta screamed and rushed over to the now kneeling next to his body and started crying. It was understandable, ever since Heidi’s trial the two of them had grown closer. They were probably closer to each other than any of us were with them. Monokuma walked over and handed me the resurrection stone and then disappeared. 

I took a good minute to process the series of events that just occurred but after we did all of us left the gym without saying a word. We all entered the cafeteria and sat down, the resurrection stone in the middle of the table. No one spoke at first, no one knew what to say, eventually Craig broke the silence. 

“I think we should use the stone” he said. Everyone looked at him, deep down we were all thinking the same thing. We had lost so many of our friends some of which didn’t deserve their fates. 

“We can only bring back one person right” Butters asked. 

“Yeah so we need to figure out who we want to bring back” Token answered. 

“It should be one of the victims, none of them deserved their fates” I said. 

“Yeah but who, and more importantly would they want to come back to this hell hole” Henrietta asked. 

“We should put it to an anonymous vote” I said. I went to my room and grabbed some pens and paper and passed them around, “everyone write down the name of the one you want to resurrect.” 

The others did as I asked each writing the name of the person they want to resurrect. There are eight of us left so if someone gets more than four votes, they win by default. After a moment everyone had completed their votes and passed them to me, I read them aloud. 

“One vote for Nichole, two votes for Jimmy, three votes for Bebe, and one vote each for Stan and Kyle.” 

“So, we’re going to resurrect Bebe” Butters said. 

“It makes sense, she died before any of us, none of us really got to know her” Token said. 

“Plus, there could be some clues in her lab, we bring her back we get access to it” Craig said. 

“Alright then, here’s the plan Henrietta this magic stuff is your specialty to some extent so we’ll leave it to you, resurrect Bebe. While she’s doing that we’ll investigate the fourth floor some more see what else we can find” I said. 

“So ya gonna use the stone then huh” Monokuma said appearing at the table. “Well in that case your gonna need my help cause there’s a few steps needed to use it.” 

“What kind of steps” Henrietta asked. 

“Well first you need the corpse of the person your resurrecting, next you need to place the body in the middle of a pentagram, place the gem over the persons heart say their name three times and blow onto the gem, it’ll turn a bright red color insert itself into her heart and supercharge it, when it does all her injuries will be healed and she’ll breath once more. Her memories will be what they were up to when she died so you’ll have to fill in the blanks, understand?” 

“Seems simple enough” Henrietta answered. 

“Oh, and one more thing the procedure must be done at midnight or else it won’t work” Monokuma said. 

“Why is it always midnight with these things” Tweek asked. 

“Who knows” Craig answered. 

Monokuma left after that, he went to move Bebe’s body to Henrietta’s lab. With a pentagram already in the center of her lab it makes it that much easier to resurrect Bebe. Henrietta went to her lab to begin preparations as the rest of us continued our search of the fourth floor. As the fated hour approached we retired to our rooms, Henrietta needed total concentration for the ritual. Butters and I laid awake as midnight struck praying that the ritual succeeded. Eventually we gave into our exhaustion and passed out. 

Morning came and as we awoke from our slumber, Butters and I quickly came to the realization that we’d soon know if the ritual succeeded or not. The two of us rushed to get dressed and darted to the cafeteria. As we turned the corner and looked into the cafeteria and saw Henrietta, standing next to her was our friend whom we thought was lost forever, Bebe Stevens the Ultimate Fashionista has returned to the world of the living.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Surviving Students: 9


	15. Making up for Lost Time

The next few days were relatively quiet. A lot of us spent time with Bebe seeing as we just got her back from the afterlife. I was able to hang out with her one on one during this time, she had wanted my help making something for each of us. I entered her lab to see her surrounded in fabrics. 

“Hey Mike, thanks for coming” she said. 

“No problem, what do you need” I asked. 

“Well since I’ve got all this material to work with I figured I’d make you guys something as a thank you for bringing me back from the dead” she answered. 

Turns out Bebe wanted to design some new outfits for all of us. There was already a stock of different clothes in her lab so she didn’t have to make everything from scratch, picture a departments store pants section and you’ve got the basic idea. 

“Alright I’m going to start with a new hat for Craig, while I’m doing that why don’t you see what the clothing stock has, try and put an outfit together” she suggested. 

“No problem” I said walking over to the clothes racks.

“So, Mike what’s it like being a politician” she asked. 

“It’s kind of a mixed bag ya know? I deal with different types of people with different types of morals. Some of the people have been bought and paid for by big companies and others refuse to listen to anyone but their constituents” I answered. “What about you, being a fashion designer and a fashionista must be an exhausting job.” 

“You don’t know how right you are” she said giggling. “When I first started out no company would take my designs. I ended up taking a chance on a no name open fashion show. We had to find our own models and the winning design would be sent to some of the fashion companies around the country, there was no guarantee that the designs would even be looked at but the guy running it had a relative who worked at one of the companies. So, I decided that I had nothing to lose and I went for it. No one would model my designs so I did it on my own. I ended up winning and that’s when everything took off for me. I was hired by the company, given my Ultimate title, and now here we are.” 

“Sounds like good times, hey what about this shirt for Butters” I asked. 

“Yeah looks good match it with these white shorts and we’re good to go” Bebe answered. 

We spent the next hour picking out outfits and making new clothes for everyone before we called the others to her lab. 

“Well Bebe were all here what’s this surprise you have for all of us” Clyde asked. 

“Well I figured I’d put all this material to use so I made some new outfits for all of us” Bebe answered. 

“Oh really? You didn’t have to do that” Tweek said. 

“I wanted to, it’s the least I could do after you guys resurrected me. But let’s get to the good stuff one by one go behind the changing divider and put the outfit with your name on it on” Bebe said. 

Butters went first walking behind the changer, a moment later he emerged, his outfit sported a teal and white Hawaiian flower shirt and a pair of white shorts. 

“Damn, you look good” I said. 

“Thanks” Butters said giggling and blushing. 

“Ok whose next” Bebe asked. “I’ll go” Craig said. 

Craig walked behind the changer and when he emerged with a new hat and jacket with blue jeans that had Peruvian designs. 

“I went with a Peru theme for you what do you think” Bebe asked. 

“It looks great Bebe thanks” he answered back. 

“I think you look hot” Tweek said hugging his arm and resting his head on Craig’s arm. 

Each of the remaining students proceeded to take their turns getting their new outfits. Tweek’s outfit swapped his green button up with a polo of the same color as well as a pair of black dress pants, Clyde’s got a red and white light varsity jacket and a number thirteen tank top underneath. Token got a leather jacket and a purple button up with black jeans. Henrietta got a black skirt and crop top to swap with her dress she also had Bebe straighten and dye her hair. Eric’s outfit consisted of a red and white top and dark blue jeans. Lastly was mine, Bebe’s outfit for me was more casual then the outfit I arrived in. I was given a dark red button up shirt that was opened half way with a black t-shirt, with it was a black jacket similar to Token’s but not leather. 

“Thanks, Bebe these outfits look amazing” Clyde said. 

“Thanks guys, but I’ve got one more to show you” Bebe said. She then walked behind the changer and walked out with a completely new outfit, instead of the black pants and red t-shirt she was wearing a black skirt with red lines in it and a red crop top.

“Wow, you look amazing Bebe” Clyde said.

He was mesmerized but Craig snapped him out of it really quickly. Bebe giggled and thanked him for the compliment. We all went to the cafeteria and ate dinner. Slowly our numbers dwindled as our friends retired for the evening, the only ones left were Clyde, Eric, Butters and I. 

“Well I’m going to turn in for the evening” I said rising from my seat, “good night guys.” 

“Night” Clyde said back, as I left Butters followed me back into my room and we had a little fun before going to sleep. 

Butters and I overslept at first, but what ended up waking us up was something that no one should have to hear first thing in the morning, it was Monokuma. 

“A body has been discovered everyone please report to the gymnasium on the fourth floor.” 

Butters and I jumped out of bed and put our clothes from yesterday on, we didn’t have time to get changed we ran out the door, up the stairs and to the gym door. I forced the door open to see Craig and his crew, a look of pure despair on all of their faces. Craig closed his eyes and moved to the side so I could see what had happened. It was then that I saw what had happened, hanging from the basketball net burns all over her arms a look on her face that suggested she was taken by surprise, was the Ultimate Fashionista, Bebe Stevens once again departed from this world.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Surviving Students: 8


	16. Investigation 4: The Beginning of the Dark Times

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys, this is just a PSA saying don't forget to read chapter 13. I posted it and 14 around the same time some of y'all might've missed it. That's my bad I should've posted them a little more spread out but please go and read it, 13 is the third class trial and it was my favorite to make. Ok now that I've made my announcement it's time we investigate Bebe's death...again.

Butters screamed and I looked away. Henrietta and Eric joined us a moment later. We all looked up at Bebe’s body in disbelief, Bebe had just come back and now she is dead once more. 

“Heya guys, now that your all here let’s get right to it, one Monokuma file hot off the presses and with that the countdown has begun, good luck” Monokuma said appearing behind us. He handed me the file and the downloaded copies were already on our handbooks. “See ya later!” Monokuma vanished and we all looked at each other none of us sure how to proceed. 

“Craig get me a ladder” Token said, “I’ll get her body down from there.” 

Craig went to the supply closet next to the stage and pulled out the step ladder, while he and Token got Bebe’s body down Butters and I investigated the closet. The only thing in the closet worth noting was a pipe out of place on the ground. 

“Hey Mike, check this out” Craig called to me from the gym. 

I walked out to and saw the cause of Craig’s concern, there was blood on the step ladder a small drop but enough to warrant adding it to the evidence app. Token stepped up on the ladder going out of his way to avoid the blood stain, he took Bebe’s legs out of the basketball net one by one eventually getting her down and placing her on the ground. 

“Ok here’s the plan everyone” I said, “Token, you and Henrietta go check the computer lab, Craig and Tweek, take her lab, Clyde and Eric check her room, Butters, you and I will check the body.” 

“Got it” Clyde said. 

“On it” Craig said. 

“Leave it to me” Henrietta said. The teams left the gym each going to their assigned locations as I opened the Monokuma File. 

“Victim is Ultimate Fashionista Bebe Stevens, cause of death was blunt force trauma to the back of the neck, time of death was roughly midnight last night” I said to Butters. 

“Mike look at her arms, there are cigarette burns on them” Butter responded. “Wait do any of us smoke?” 

“Henrietta does I believe” I answered. 

“You don’t think” Butters started. 

“It’s way too early to think about that we have to collect more evidence first” I answered. Bebe was holding her monopod the back had blood on it. 

“What’s on her monopod” Butters asked. 

“I’m not sure,” I said. “One way to find out though.” 

I was able to rescue Bebe’s monopod from her grip, considering how hard it was to get out of her hand rigor had definitely set in which leads me to believe the Monokuma file’s time of death was correct. 

“There’s something else in her pocket.” I reached in and pulled out two sewing needles they were noticeably sharper than normal. 

I turned to Butters “weapon perhaps?” 

Token ran back into the gym, “Mike, you need to come see this” he shouted. 

The two of us ran back to the computer lab to see a few key pieces of crucial evidence, the body might have been found in the gym, but Bebe could’ve very well been killed in the computer lab. On the computer was the journal entry concerning the possibility of a spy as well as all the other UA information which we had stored in the computer lab and a delete pop up box in front of it. 

“Someone was trying to erase the information on project UA” Token said. 

“Yeah and look, there’s hair and blood on the keyboard and floor” I added. “Whatever she was struck with the damage was done here, she didn’t sense her attacker coming this time that’s for sure.” 

Craig walked into the room a moment later, he and Tweek had found something in her lab. 

“We found this Mike, it’s a note addressed to you” Craig said handing me the paper. 

“It’s in the pocket” I read. 

“The pocket” Craig asked. “What was she talking about?” 

“I’m not sure but her lab has too many pockets to search through” I answered. The five of us left the computer lab and re-entered the gym to see Clyde and Eric standing there. 

“Hey Mike we couldn’t find anything in her room but we did find these in the trashcan near the door” Clyde said showing us an empty pack of cigarette. 

“Wait a minute, only one person smokes cigarettes in this group” Eric said. We all looked at Henrietta who understandably got defensive. 

“Hey back off all of you, I didn’t kill her” she said. 

“Then why was she covered in cigarette burns” Clyde asked. 

“How should I know my pack of cigarettes got stolen a few days ago” she answered.

“That’s way too much of a coincidence Henrietta” Tweek said. 

“You know I just thought of something” Butters said. “The culprit in this case was trying to delete the UA files, does that mean whoever killed Bebe wanted to get rid of the information, is the culprit the spy?” 

We all looked around at each other coming to the realization that Butters’s theory could be right on the money. 

“What did her monopod say Mike” Craig asked. 

“I haven’t gotten a chance to look at it yet, here let me check it now” I answered. 

I opened it to see a message from an unknown sender, I began reading “I can tell you everything about Project UA, including what that list in your lab means.” 

Token stopped me, “What list in her lab, we didn’t find anything.” 

“Maybe we didn’t find anything because Bebe didn’t let us find anything” I answered. 

“Meet me in the computer lab at midnight, come alone.” 

“Which monopad sent that message” Henrietta asked. 

“Doesn’t say, sender unknown” I answered. “Come on let’s go to the cafeteria and sort through what we got. 

The eight of us entered the cafeteria and sat down. When we did we noticed another monopad sitting there, I powered it up to see that it was the monopad used to send the message, but with no name on it, who could it possibly belong to. 

“First thing I need to know is which of you two left the cafeteria last yesterday” I said pointing at Eric and Clyde. 

“It was me” Eric said, “I left like five minutes after Clyde there was no monopad here when I did so someone probably came back after me.” 

“Alright we’ll have to make do with what we have I doubt will find much else at this point” I said. 

The loudspeaker powered up a moment later, “heya kiddos it’s trial time get your butts over to the elevator and let’s get this show on the road.” 

The eight of us walked to the elevator and got on, it took us to the top floor and we entered the trial chamber. This was it, once more we needed to determine who killed Bebe Stevens, if we find the identity of the killer we might also discover the spy hiding in our midst. Whoever killed Bebe has to have some more knowledge about UA then the rest of us, but why they failed to delete the files after killing her was beyond me. But I’ll worry about that later, my main priority now, is to determine who among us has killed, the fourth class trial is about to begin.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Surviving Students: 8


	17. The Trial of Deception

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Before reading this make sure you read the investigation chapter I posted this morning. Also leave comments, I love reading them.

The shutters closed and the podiums rose once more. Wendy’s and Jimmy’s picture now joined the portraits of fallen classmates, we took our places and Monokuma began. 

“Now then let’s begin with a basic explanation of the class trial, during the trial you’ll present your arguments on the case, and vote for whodunit, vote correctly and only the blackened will be punished, but if you pick the wrong person, I’ll punish everyone besides the blackened and that person will get to graduate” “Alright now let the class trial begin!” 

“This trial is really important guys, not only will we determine who killed Bebe, but we may also discover the spy among us” Craig said. 

“Craig’s right we can’t afford to slip up on this one” I concurred. 

“Well we aren’t going to find her killer by hyping each other up” Eric said. “Let’s get to it.” 

It’s starting, the fourth class trial, if we play it right maybe the spy will slip up and reveal themselves. Either way we need to find the culprit whether or not the spy is also revealed. 

“I guess what we should figure out first” Tweek began. “Is if Bebe was killed in the computer lab or the gym.” 

“There was blood in both rooms” Clyde said. “She could’ve been killed in either of them.” 

“Wherever she was killed” Token said. “She ended up in the gym.” I think I know where she was killed, and the evidence backs it up. 

“No that’s wrong” I said. “It’s true that she could’ve been killed in either room but I believe that the room where she died is the computer lab.” 

“What makes you say that” Token asked. 

“The blood stains and hair we found on the floor and keyboard” I answered. “Based on the positioning of it, I hypothesize that the killer swung at her from behind, as a result her head hit the table and she was at the very least knocked unconscious.” 

“I guess the next question we should ask then is why was her guard down” Henrietta asked. 

“I think I might have a theory on that one” Eric said. “Bebe’s guard was down, because she knew someone was meeting her there, what she didn’t know, was that the person she was meeting apparently wanted her dead.” 

“So Bebe figured that one of us was coming to the lab to talk to her,” Tweek started “and given how close we’ve all gotten recently she felt safe letting her guard down, and it got her killed.” Eric’s right on this one, 

“I agree” I said. “Eric’s theory makes sense the monopad we found in the cafeteria proves that much. The monopad sent the message to Bebe saying to meet them there. Sure, the sender had no name but like Tweek said we’ve all grown close to her she’d have no problem trusting us.” 

“Yeah and look where it got her” Craig said. “Poor girl didn’t even see her attacker coming.” 

“Wait a minute can I chime in here” Butters asked. “What about the sewing needles we found in her pocket?” 

“Sewing needles” Token asked. 

“Yeah she had two sewing needles in her pocket, I assumed she had them from when she was working on something but maybe, maybe she didn’t fully trust us after all” I answered. 

“The sewing needles she had in her pocket” Clyde started. “Why did she have them?” 

“She probably had them for self-defense, in case someone tried to kill her” Craig answered. 

“But if she had them for self-defense, how did she end up dead” Butters asked. 

“She must not have heard her attacker enter the computer lab” Tweek answered, “as a result she didn’t have time to reach for her weapon, and was killed.” 

Craig’s right, there’s no other reason she would have them besides coincidence, and coincidences mean nothing in a class trial.

“I agree” I said. “Craig’s right, it’s too convenient that she had them from working on an outfit. There’s little doubt in my mind that Bebe had them to defend herself but she didn’t sense her attacker in time.” 

“Ok so we know that she was struck from behind and her weapons failed before they got the chance to be tested” Token began “but where does that leave us? I mean it’s obvious who the culprit is at this point right?” 

Is it? Token clearly believes he knows the culprit’s identity but I’m not so sure it’ll be that easy. 

“The culprit in this case” he began. “Is none other than Henrietta, her cigarettes were used to burn Bebe’s arms post mortem.” 

“But would she really make it that obvious that it was her” Butters asked. 

“I can answer that as well” Token answered. “She placed Bebe in the gym in order to shift blame onto Clyde, the cigarette burns were her fatal flaw.” Wait a minute something doesn’t add up something that’ll prove Henrietta’s innocence. 

“No that’s wrong” I said. “Hold on a minute Token, I think it’s the other way around, someone used the cigarette burns to try and pin the blame on Henrietta.” 

“Explain” he demanded. “The cigarettes that were used to burn Bebe’s skin were tossed in the trash can, but there was an ash tray right there, Henrietta, who is an expert smoker knows that throwing cigarettes in the trash isn’t proper disposal, if she was the culprit then she would’ve put the cigarettes in the ash tray out of habit.” 

“Does the lady in question wish to chime in here” Token asked directing his gaze at Henrietta.

“I told you earlier my cigarettes got stolen two days ago, I turned my back for a minute and they were gone” she answered. “Besides why would I kill her she was the only girl here who was actually nice to me.” 

“What do you mean” Butters asked. 

“Girls always shit talk, guys do the same, it’s a fact of life, but Bebe was the only one who actually cared enough to talk to me on a regular basis during both of her stays here, I would never kill her” Henrietta answered making a fist. 

I never knew how badly the other girls treated her, and worse her two closest friends are now dead, she’s been through enough I believe in her innocence. 

“I believe Henrietta, she didn’t kill Bebe” I said. 

“Well if it wasn’t Henrietta then who was it” Clyde asked. 

“One way to find out, we need to figure out alibis” I said. 

“So where was everyone when the murders happened” Eric asked. 

“Butters and Mike had already retired to Mike’s room at that point, same with the husbands, Token, and Henrietta” Clyde said. “Eric and I were the last two to go to bed, but I went to bed before him.” 

“So, in other words” Token began, “Eric was awake the longest.” Eric’s own words back up Token’s statement, 

“I agree” I said. “Eric was the last one awake last night, right Eric?” “Yeah I went to bed last, but your leaving part of my statement out” he answered. “Remember I said I saw someone heading towards the stairs, so the question is was that Bebe or her killer. You trying to set me up Mike is that why you didn’t mention the figure I saw? I thought you wanted to live well that won’t happen if you vote me down because I didn’t kill her. However, I do know who the culprit is.” It took me a minute to process his statement. 

“Wait you do, then tell us who killed Bebe” I said. 

“There’s no fun in that, we need to determine what she was doing with the Project UA info first, c’mon let’s see if we can figure it out” Eric replied. Eric had us hostage at this point, whether or not he was bluffing he’s taken control of this debate. 

“So, what was Bebe doing trying to delete the Project UA info” Eric asked. 

“Was she really trying to delete it” Craig asked. “Or was her killer the one who tried to wipe out the information?” 

“Bebe was the only one sitting at the computer based on the evidence we found, could she have been the spy all along” Clyde asked. 

“I don’t think so; the mastermind has been getting info on us even after Bebe’s death in the beginning” Butters answered. 

“Then why did Bebe have the information on the computer screen, there’s no other plausible reason other than she was the spy all along” Clyde said. There’s another option we’re not seeing, Butters is right it couldn’t have been Bebe. 

“No that’s wrong” I said. “Think about what information was on the screen, it was the information regarding the traitor that the Project UA people discovered hiding in our midst.” 

“If Bebe was looking at it then all the more reason to believe she was the spy” Henrietta said. 

“No there’s something we’re not seeing here I think the culprit staged the murder scene as well as the crime scene to paint Bebe as the spy” I said. “There’s proof of the staging in the evidence we collected, the delete pop up window on the screen, remember when we entered the computer lab we noticed that someone had been trying to delete the information on the spy but failed to do so. But why would they have failed, I can only think of two reasons why, either the culprit and or spy was trying to get rid of the file, sensed Bebe was coming and ducked out of the way, or waited until after the culprit had killed her and then got the delete prompt on the screen and left it there leading us to believe that Bebe was the spy.” 

Clyde interrupted me before I could finish, “I’m gonna knock you out of the park!” “That seems a little farfetched Mike, even for you.” 

“What do you mean Clyde” I asked. 

“Here let me spell it out for you” he answered. “You say the culprit went through all the trouble of staging a murder scene? There’s no way anyone here would get that complex about their killing. The culprit walked in on Bebe trying to get rid of the info, and then stopped her before she could finish the job, killing her in the process.” 

“While the evidence does make that a possibility, it backs up my theory even more” I said. 

“Your theory is way too farfetched, the culprit saw Bebe going after the files, made his move, and since she couldn’t get her weapon out in time.” 

I stopped him right there, “I’ll cut your words!” “Bebe didn’t get a chance to fight back remember she was caught off guard, the bruise on her neck from where she was hit is proof of that.” 

“I guess your right” Clyde said sounding defeated. “Sorry Mike I didn’t mean to waste time.” 

“God you guys are so boring” Eric said. “We’re wasting time just figure out who the culprit is already.” 

“Don’t act like you got all the answers” Craig said. “You don’t know who the culprit is either.” 

“That’s where your wrong” Eric said. “I’m about to blow this case wide open because I know who the killer is.” 

“No way, you’re so full of shit, like hell you figured it out already” Henrietta said. 

“I didn’t say I figured it out, I said I already know who the killer is” Eric replied. The phrasing of his words, could it be, he had something to do with it? 

“Alright then tell us Eric, tell us who killed Bebe” Tweek said.

“It was you, wasn’t it, Eric” I said. The others looked at me as I did. “The message to Bebe, the Project UA information on the computer, the delete prompt, stringing her up in the gym, it was all you.” “You summoned Bebe to the computer lab, had the project UA information on the screen, waited in the shadows for her to come in and then took her out, after that you put the delete prompt up to make it look like she was the spy.” 

Eric started chuckling, “you might’ve figured the plan out but you wrong about who did it.” 

“What do you mean” I began to ask but he cut me off. 

“Now it’s my turn!” “You think you’re so smart don’t you Mike, well guess what you couldn’t be more wrong. New flash asshole I’m innocent.” 

“Yeah then prove it” I countered. 

“Alright fine” Eric shouted. The next words he uttered sent us all into shock and he did it in the most casual tone I’ve ever heard. “The culprit is Clyde.” We all paused for a moment then the shock ensued. 

“Wait what, what did you just say” Craig said. Eric’s podium moved forward and he spoke again, 

“I came up with the whole thing and Clyde carried it out, I told him of the evidence I had found that confirmed Bebe was the spy and that in order to save the rest of you we needed to stop her. Then I had Clyde go to his room and wait until I messaged him, I set up the computer lab and waited for Bebe to come in, once that was done I told Clyde to hurry over to the computer lab and just like I knew he would, he saw Bebe at the computer looking at the UA files, I left the pipe outside the door for him and well the rest was history.” Eric finished his confession and Clyde’s skin turned pale could he have actually done it? 

“Your nothing but a filthy liar” Butters shouted “there’s no way that Clyde killed her he couldn’t have.” 

“Butters is right” Craig said “Clyde would never hurt her or anyone here.” 

“I’m with Craig, I think fat ass is the culprit” Token said. 

“Mike there’s no way Clyde did it why aren’t you agreeing with us” Butters asked looking at me. I didn’t want to say what I was thinking because I knew how it would go over, but it’s possible that Clyde did do it. I closed my eyes and thought for a minute, I opened them and looked directly at him. 

“Your face says it all Mike, you believe Eric don’t you” Clyde said. 

“I think it’s a possibility, whether or not it’s true has yet to be determined” I answered. 

“What” Butters shouted, he looked directly at me “you mean to tell me you believe Eric over Clyde, Eric’s lying he killed her.”

“But we can’t dismiss this just yet” Henrietta said. “Mike’s been right before so I’ll trust his judgement on this as well.” 

“Everyone stop right there” Monokuma said. “Looks like your split down the middle again, which means it’s time for a team debate, the question of the day is, who’s the culprit, on the Clyde side we have Mike, Eric, and Henrietta, on the Eric side we have, Butters, Clyde, Token, Tweek, and Craig. Alright let’s get to it!” Monokuma pressed the button and the trial grounds transformed into the team debate layout. 

“Eric’s lying, he killed Bebe” Tweek said. 

“But the evidence doesn’t fully convict him” I countered. 

“Eric confessed to the deed he explained the whole murder plot” Craig said. 

“I explained how it happened, but Clyde was the one who actually carried it out” Eric said. 

“Eric is much more suspicious then Clyde we can’t trust his word” Token said. 

“But the evidence does support the sequence of events that Eric explained to us” I said. 

“I swear I didn’t kill her, please you’ve got to believe me” Clyde said. 

“I want to believe you Clyde but we can’t be one hundred percent sure that you didn’t” Henrietta said. 

“Mike what’s wrong with you how could you believe Eric over Clyde” Butters said. 

“The truth is what’s important in a class trial not emotions, we must find the truth” I said. “This is out answer!” “Clyde, if you didn’t kill her then you need an alibi, did you go anywhere after you left the cafeteria?” 

“No, I went straight to my room” he answered. 

“He’s lying he went to the computer lab” Eric said. 

“Like I said I told him about how I knew Bebe was the spy and that we need to stop her. I messaged him and told him Bebe was in the computer lab doing something to the UA files and we had to confront her. I had him get the pipe from the hallway and we could use it to subdue her, at this point I was already in the lab and Bebe hadn’t noticed me hiding in the shadows. The door was left cracked open just enough so when Clyde walked in it wouldn’t make a sound and then wham! He hit her with the pipe.” 

“He’s lying” Clyde insisted “if you believe him we’ll all die, he’s the killer not me, he just confessed to being in the computer lab.” 

“What if I have photographic evidence of Clyde doing the deed” Eric asked. Clyde gasped at Eric’s question. 

“What do you mean photographic evidence” Craig asked. 

“The evidence app can take pictures of evidence as we all know, well I used it to take a picture at the moment Clyde connected the pipe with Bebe’s neck” Eric answered. 

“Let’s see it then, prove it, prove that you have that picture” Clyde said. 

“Very well, if you insist” Eric said. Eric took out his monopad and revealed the picture he was talking about. Just as he said you can see Clyde striking Bebe over the head. Everyone gasped and Clyde started to turn pale. “See I told you I had the proof. After that I emerged from the shadows and helped Clyde move the body, she was bleeding from the forehead as a result of where she got hit when her head hit the table, so Clyde put his hand over it to stop the bleeding, he didn’t notice when a few drops fell on the floor in the hallway and the stepladder. Once we got to the gym we strung her up on the basketball net and left her there.” 

“Clyde is this true” Butters asked. 

“Of course not, he’s lying and I refuse to believe otherwise” Craig said. 

“Why would Clyde kill Bebe, he has no motive.” 

“I told you guys Bebe was the spy, that’s why he did it” Eric said. 

“But can we really trust Eric” Tweek asked. “He’s the most suspicious out of all of us.” 

“He’s lying I swear, I wouldn’t kill Bebe you have to believe me.” Clyde said. I don’t want to believe he’s guilty but the evidence is too damning. 

“With this your fate is sealed” I said. “Clyde, while I do believe that Eric is the one who came up with this whole plan, you’re the one in the picture who killed her.” “Bebe might have been the spy, but that doesn’t mean she had to die and Eric’s photo is too strong to ignore.” “I’m sorry Clyde, here let me go over it again and we can finally end this once and for all.” 

I didn’t want to, I’m pretty sure Clyde was a victim in all this as well but sparing him meant the rest of us would die. I didn’t want that and I knew deep down Clyde didn’t want that either. 

“The truth of the case is revealed!” “It was late last night; Eric and the culprit had been talking and Eric told them that he had evidence Bebe was the spy in our midst and that he had a plan to subdue her but he needed the culprits help to do it. The culprit believed him and so the pieces had begone to move into place. Eric used the extra monopad to contact Bebe and lure her to the computer lab, but before she arrived he placed a pipe next to the door and hid in the shadows of the lab. Bebe walked in and saw the UA files on the computer, she probably began reading them. 

At this point Eric had already got the message to the culprit that Bebe was in the lab and that he needed the culprits help in order to capture her. The culprit got to the door and saw Bebe checking out the files, to them seeing Bebe messing with the files was enough evidence for them. The culprit grabbed the pipe snuck up behind Bebe and whacked her with the pipe. The culprit didn’t realize their own strength and as a result killed Bebe. 

As this was happening Eric took a snapshot of the culprit striking the killing blow, then, emerging from the shadows, he offered to help move the body to make it impossible to figure out who killed her. When they moved her to the gym, Eric used the cigarettes he stole from Henrietta to make burn marks on Bebe’s arms thereby implicating Henrietta in her murder. Once the damage was done they hung the body from the net, threw out the cigarettes. 

You were led on and tricked into this crime weren’t you, Clyde Donovan the Ultimate Athlete.” Clyde didn’t say anything nor did Eric, in fact that whole room was silent. 

Finally, Clyde spoke up, “Monokuma let them vote will ya?” 

“Sounds good to me, alright people you know the drill cast your votes and send Derek Jeter here to his doom” Monokuma responded. Our consoles lit up and with a heavy heart I voted for Clyde, I knew something was amiss about this whole case and I was gonna find out what it is. “Who will be chosen as the blackened, will you make the right choice or the dreadfully wrong one.” The wheel appeared next to Monokuma and began spinning and much to our dismay landed on Clyde. 

“Four for four you got it right again, Clyde in the computer lab with a metal pipe.” 

“Alright now that it’s all over Clyde, please explain everything that lead up to this” I asked. 

“Eric had come to me the day after Bebe was brought back, he had told me that he had discovered that Bebe was the spy, that when she was resurrected she was under Monokuma’s control. I didn’t believe him at first but after we talked for a while it started to make sense and he claimed to have the evidence to back it up. 

Then the night of the murder after you all went to sleep he said that he overheard Bebe talking to someone and it sounded like Monokuma, once I got the message that she was in the computer lab I knew I had to do something, I didn’t want to kill her, the goal was just to capture her and make her confess to the crime of being the spy using Eric’s evidence.” 

“Well I thought that Eric tricked you but if he has evidence we need to see it” I said. 

We all looked at Eric who was looking at the ground. Then he started laughing, and he got louder and louder. 

“I can’t believe you fell for it, Clyde you idiot Bebe was never the spy I just used you to get her out of the way, the less competition the better” he said. 

“Wait you mean” Clyde began, “Bebe wasn’t the spy?!” 

“Nope she wasn’t working for me at any point in this game” Monokuma said. “Basically, you killed and innocent person Clyde.” Clyde fell to the ground his eyes widened he began to cry. 

“Eric you’ve gone too far this time” Butters said. 

“Hey don’t blame me, Clyde’s too gullible for his own good” Eric countered. 

“But why, why go through all this, shaving down the competition couldn’t have been your only reason” Craig said. 

“Your right there is another reason” Eric began, “I was bored!” 

“What” I asked, “that’s the reason you were bored?!” 

“Yeah pretty much so I figured Monokuma already got rid of Jimmy, might as well have him get rid of Clyde too he’s become to annoying anyway.” All of us were shocked and Clyde was crying at this point. It was then that we realized what we were truly dealing with, a full blown sociopath. “Well Clyde nice knowing you, enjoy the afterlife” Eric said in a nonchalant tone. Clyde’s faced turn from hysteria to depression he knew what was about to happen, he didn’t deserve it but Monokuma didn’t care for loopholes, Clyde killed Bebe and got caught which means he is going to be punished. 

“Now then I’ve prepared a very special punishment for Clyde Donovan the Ultimate Athlete, an ode to a classic” Monokuma said. 

“Clyde, know this before you go, I’ll make him pay for this, I promise” Butters said. 

“Thanks Butters” Clyde said, “knowing that makes me less terrified about my imminent death.” “Goodbye everyone, you guys are the best friends I’ve ever had. Eric I’ll see you in hell.” 

“LET”S GO IT”S PUNISHMENT TIME” Monokuma shouted. Monokuma banged his gavel on the red button and the screen behind him lit up, “Clyde has been found guilty, commencing execution.” Clyde fell through a trap door into the execution chamber which had been redesigned to look like a baseball field, Clyde was chained to a steel beam at home plate and the pitcher’s mound had a fifty caliber machine gun filled with baseballs. The screen played the graphic “Strikeout! Ultimate Athlete Clyde Donovan’s Execution: Executed.” 

Monokuma sat in the chair on the gun and started firing baseballs towards Clyde at a very high velocity. The external wounds were graphic blood was coming out of him left and right until the last ball crushed his Adam’s apple and with his last breath coughed up a pool of blood. His body just hung there and then the screen went black. 

Tweek and Butters started to cry and Token and Craig couldn’t bear to look, they had lost one of their friends, one of our friends, and the person who was truly responsible was getting away with it. Eric began to walk to the elevator, not a care in the world. 

“Hold it right there you son of a bitch” Butters shouted. “You’re not going anywhere!” He charged at Eric prepping a right hook and taking a swing. Eric blocked him and fired a right jab into Butters’s eye knocking him to the ground. “You, you will pay for this I promise you.” 

Eric didn’t say a word he just walked into the elevator and left the chamber. The rest of us gathered around Butters and I kneeled beside him. 

“Babe are you ok” I asked. He didn’t respond at first but when I put my hand on his shoulder he shoved it away. 

“Don’t touch me” he said, “you’re just as bad as he is you should’ve sided with Clyde, if you did maybe he wouldn’t be dead right now!” Butters got up and headed for the elevator. “I’m going to my room, I’ll see you guys later.” Butters left the trial chamber leaving only the five of us behind. 

“Hey Mike don’t worry about it alright” Craig said. “He’ll get over it he just needs time to cool off. In the meantime, we have some fallen classmates to mourn.” Craig helped me up and the rest of us left the chamber. The ride down the elevator was somber and quiet no one said a word the only sound you could hear is Tweek’s crying. The elevator reached the ground floor and the two husbands helped me back to my room, the day was only half over but no one wanted to do anything else. 

I didn’t leave my room for the rest of the day, I didn’t want to, was Butters right am I the reason Clyde’s dead? If we didn’t vote for him wouldn’t we have all died? There are so many questions left unanswered and now only seven of us remain, if Bebe wasn’t the spy and that was just Eric’s lie to get Clyde to murder, then does that meant the spy is still among us? So many questions that need answering but at the very least I should try and sleep tonight.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Surviving Students: 7


	18. The Force of Despair

The morning after Clyde’s case was a depressing one. It’s been a while since I’ve slept alone. If you could call it sleep the nightmare of Clyde’s execution was playing on repeat all night I barely got three hours. I made my way to the cafeteria to see Craig Tweek and Token there, the other three remaining students were nowhere to be found. 

“Hey” Craig said in a defeated tone. 

“Morning” I replied, “where is everyone else?” 

“No idea, but Monokuma came through a few minutes ago, as a result of the fourth trial we’ve unlocked a few more rooms in the basement level below the library” Craig answered. “Other than Eric’s lab which was already unlocked, he said we now had access to the engine room and the biology lab, and we had visual access to the dock at the rear of the ship.” 

“We should go check it out” Tweek suggested, “do you guys want to wait for the others to show up?” 

“There’s no point” I answered, “Butters wants nothing to do with me, we want nothing to do with Eric, and as far as Henrietta was concerned all semblance of hope had left her eyes after Clyde died so she might not be much help either.” 

“Alright” Token started, “then let’s go down there now and see what we can find.” 

The four of us made our way down to the library level then beyond it down the stairs was the basement. Upon entering the basement hallway, the first thing we saw was Eric’s lab door, not giving a damn about it or him we moved onto the other three rooms of the ship. I took the biology lab, Craig and Tweek took the machine room and Token checked out the dock or rather the window of the dock we couldn’t access. 

I entered the biology lab and what I saw was something out of a horror movie, the biology lab was also a morgue with nine freezers in use. I noticed one of the lights on a freezer door was blinking but faulty wiring was the least of my concerns at the moment. The freezer doors didn’t have locks either, I checked by opening up one at random the door red number six. Turns out the one I opened was Kyle’s, poor guy didn’t deserve his fate, but at least we were able to get him and Stan some justice. 

To be honest Monokuma calling it a biology lab wasn’t close to accurate, it was a morgue through and through. I left the room a moment later and joined Craig and Tweek in the engine room, Token had already joined them as well. 

“What did you find in the bio lab” he asked. 

“Well it’s not actually a bio lab, it’s a morgue” I answered. 

Hearing that made Tweek a little nauseous but he didn’t vomit thankfully. The engine room was your typical machine room, we had an engine as well as a fuse box for the power on that floor and an oil drum that was filled with fuel, probably in case of an emergency. 

“Well that’s all we got here” Token said. “There’s no point in looking at the dock, all that’s there is a speedboat we can’t access anyway.” 

“Then let’s go back to the cafeteria” Craig suggested. 

“Good call” I agreed. The four of us returned to the cafeteria to see Butters and Henrietta sitting down. 

“Good morning” I said to him. 

Not surprisingly he didn’t respond, he was still furious over what happened at the trial, I wish he’d understand that it was either him or us, in order for us to survive, Clyde needed to face punishment even though he didn’t deserve it. 

“There’s something we need to do” Butters said finally breaking his silence. “Clyde and Bebe need to be honored.” 

“Your right” I said. Craig walked over to the bin of photos and placed Clyde’s and Bebe’s on the table. 

“Nine” Craig started, “we’ve lost nine of our friends already how can we keep going like this?” 

“We need to put a stop the killings once and for all” I answered. 

“We didn’t find any Project UA info on the basement floor, unless Eric stole it and is hiding it somewhere” Tweek said. 

“He wouldn’t tell us if he did” Henrietta replied, “more importantly where is he, has anyone seen him since he left the trial chamber?” 

“No but I wanted to discuss something with you guys about him” I answered. We all took our seats and I began, “do you guys remember how the UA files said there was a traitor among the test subjects feeding information to the remnants?” 

“Yeah what about it” Craig answered. “We also know that the mastermind was a member of the remnants and he and his spy are a part of this killing game either running it or playing it.” 

“Exactly I’m assuming you all think he is the mastermind at this point” I said. 

“Of course, he’s the mastermind, the killing game is still going on because he hasn’t been killed yet” Henrietta said. 

“Well if it’s so obvious then what are we waiting for let’s get him” Butters said. 

“Hold on there’s something I need to run by you all” I said. “What if we’re wrong, if he’s not the mastermind then whoever kills him will get punished and I don’t want anyone else to die.” 

“So, what we wait until he kills one of us” Butters shouted. “I don’t know about you but I don’t want to wait to be murdered by a sociopath!” Butters stormed about of the cafeteria, I gave chase but he went into his room. I went back to the cafeteria and the others were still sitting there. 

“Do you really think someone else is the mastermind” Tweek asked. 

“I think we shouldn’t risk anything until we’re sure” I answered. “

If you say so, I’m going to go check on Butters I’ll catch up with you guys later” Tweek replied. 

He kissed Craig and then headed towards the cabins. Token and Henrietta followed suit and left for other areas of the ship leaving just me and Craig behind. 

“Mike, I’m going to the pool deck, join me will you” Craig requested. 

“Alright” I agreed. The two of us made our way to the pool deck making it in time to see the sun setting on the horizon. 

“Can I give you some advice one gay guy with a boyfriend to another” he asked. 

“Sure, I could use some” I answered. 

“Sometimes you need to be there for your lover, if they’re going through something they need some of their loved ones” Craig began. “Believe me I’ve been there, years ago Tweek had a major panic attack, it lasted days, the longest one he’s ever had. I figured if I took him out or something he’d calm down, turns out all he wanted was an ear, someone to listen to. Butters has been a mess since Clyde died maybe just listen to him, I mean he’s been listening to all of our problems after the murders but has anyone listened to him?” 

“My god, I’ve been so blind, I’ve been so focused on trying to end the killing game all we’ve been doing is sleeping together” I said. “I gotta go find Butters I’ll catch up with you later Craig.” 

“Go for it” Craig said. 

I ran down the stairs and back to the cabins I knocked on Butters door. He didn’t answer so I checked if he was with Tweek but he said that Butters wanted to be alone. I started running all over the ship and no one has seen Butters, in the end even with Craig and Tweek’s assistance we couldn’t find him. 

We returned to the cafeteria and had some dinner, Henrietta was there so she joined us. After dinner I returned to my room, I checked Butters room one more time and to my surprise he was back. 

“Butters, I’m so sorry I should’ve listened to you more” I said running into his room and hugging him. “Please, please forgive me.” 

Butters hugged me back, “I already have, I was never really mad with you, I just, I have been so stressed, the murders, the trials, the executions and then it all starts over again. That’s why I want to stop Eric it’s the only way to protect the ones who survived and honor the ones who are gone.” 

“Please, killing him is not the answer, I don’t want to risk losing you, please don’t go after him, just stay with me” I pleaded. 

In the end Butters backed down, “ok I won’t go after him we’ll just have to find a way to deal with him nonviolently.” Butters kissed me and we got in his bed, “I love you Mike” he said to me. None of my other boyfriends said that and actually mean it, for once I was truly happy. We fell asleep a little later on, I had never been so happy to be holding him for once since we got trapped on this ship I was truly at peace, if only I knew how fleeting that peace would be. 

It was the first time since it happened that I didn’t dream about Clyde’s execution, but this dream wasn’t much better. I opened my eyes to see myself surrounded by all of the blackened. I could hear their voices, “you killed me, you killed me” over and over they got the closer and close until I was rocked awake by something. It felt like an earthquake and it knocked me out of bed. 

“Butters are you alright” I shouted. 

No response, he wasn’t there. I checked the bathroom, he wasn’t there either, my panic level was rising and I heard a knock at the door, it was Craig. I opened the door to find him alone, truly a rare occurrence. 

“Mike did you feel that” he asked. 

“Yeah I don’t know what it was though” I answered. 

“There’s smoke coming from the library let’s go” he said grabbing my arm and leading me towards the stair case. We went down the stairs to find Token and Henrietta there we also discovered that the smoke was coming from the basement. 

“Where are Tweek and Butters” Token asked. 

“No clue” I answered. 

“Will find them later right now we need to get down stairs” Henrietta said. 

The four of us ran down to the basement following the smoke to the engine room, it was stronger and harder to breathe but we managed to get through, in all honesty I wish we hadn’t. The room was still on fire and it was hard to see. We had to run to the biology lab and get buckets of water to put out the blaze, by the time we did the room was completely destroyed. The fuse box was fried, and the engine disabled. Worst of all, on the ground we found two bodies that were burned beyond recognition but based on who inhabited this ship we could figure out who they were, two of our classmates were there and they were dead no way to tell who they were. 

Craig and I had the same look of fear in our eyes as the body discovery announcement came on over the loud speaker. Two bodies and both of our boyfriends were missing, this is going to be the hardest investigation yet.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Surviving Students: ?


	19. Investigation 5: Despair Incarnate

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well people we're at the fifth investigation, it's been a long journey but we're getting close to the end. Now since tomorrow is Thanksgiving and my school has given me a long weekend, I plan to use that time to make the fifth trial as gut wrenching as possible, a trial with a plot twist so extreme you'll never see it coming. With that in mind, the fifth trial won't be put up until Sunday or Monday at the earliest, but that doesn't mean I won't be reachable. If you guys wanna chat about the fic with me just light up the comment section below, as I've stated in the past I love chatting with you guys especially about the plot twists that have been thrown into this fic. So yeah if you wanna chat over the long Thanksgiving weekend I'll be here, but the trial itself won't get dropped till Sunday or Monday. Happy Holidays to you all and know that I am thankful for each and everyone of you. Long Live DANGANRONPA

“Tweek” Craig shouted at the two dead bodies, he ran towards them but Token stopped him. 

“Craig, we don’t know it’s him calm down.” 

If Craig didn’t I would have, knowing that Butters could be one of those two corpses is shaking me to my very core. 

“Heya everybody how y’all doin” Monokuma said arriving on the scene. 

“Monokuma, who are these two, we can’t tell” Henrietta asked. 

“Oh umm, well, that’s a good question, funny story about that” Monokuma said clearly stalling for time. 

“Don’t tell me, you don’t know who these bodies belong to either do you” I asked. 

“No, I do” he answered, “but I can’t tell ya, if it was just two people missing and one body that would be a different story but since it’s three missing people and two bodies I can’t tell ya. If I tell ya then you’ll get an advantage over the culprit, yeah that’s it, it’s a rule.” 

“Your lying, I can tell” Henrietta countered. 

“Yeah well that’s the deal, I know whose dead and who’s not and you gotta figure it out, tell ya what once you figure out who these corpses belong to I’ll give you a matching Monokuma file” Monokuma answered, “good luck!” 

Monokuma left us with a smoked out engine room and two corpses. As much as I was terrified for Butters possibly being dead, I needed to focus on the case. I walked in front of my three friends, entered the room, and began checking the bodies. 

“Token, help me out here” I said. 

“Yeah sure” he began checking the body farthest from the door. “Guys theirs something underneath this body.” 

“What is it” Craig asked. 

“It’s, Butter’s monopad” Token answered. 

I looked at him my panic level rising even more, just then my hand that I was using to check the upper torso and neck on the body felt something metallic. I turned my hand to look at what it was. 

“This body has a Star of David necklace on it. Craig is Tweek Jewish” I asked. 

“No just the opposite he is Buddhist” Craig answered. 

“Guys, I’ve got something over here” Henrietta said her tone of voice suggesting concern. She turned to us and held up a small circular object. 

“Is that what I think it is” Token asked. He turned to Craig who was on his knee’s eyes widened as much as physically possible. 

“That’s, that’s Tweek’s wedding ring” he said. 

“Is he one of the bodies then” Henrietta asked me. 

“It’s too early to tell that, Butters’s monopad was found under the body, but there’s something about this body that concerns me” I answered. 

“What is it” Token asked. 

“I’m going to the morgue, Craig come with me” I answered. Craig hesitated but eventually he stood up and followed me to the morgue. “You check the desk, I’m going to check the freezers, I have a hunch. 

Craig nodded and walked to the desk and I began checking the freezers one by one seeing who was in which. There was only one freezer that was in use without a body to go with it. 

“Mike, did you check this desk earlier” Craig asked. 

“Yeah why” I asked. 

“There’s a UA file in here” he answered. 

“No way” I said running over to him. As sure as Craig said there was a file on the UA project. 

“It had to have been placed here after I searched the morgue.” Craig opened the file and on it was the one piece of information we were looking for all this time. 

“This is a list of the UA project subjects” Craig said. Craig began reading off the names, “Black, Broflovski, Marsh, McCormick, Stevens, Biggle, Tucker, all our names are on here except for one. Mike, we were right, Eric is the mastermind, he’s the only one whose name is not on the list.” 

“Let’s get back to the others, we need to discuss this” I said. We returned to the wrecked engine room and saw Token kneeling next to the second body Henrietta was standing over him. 

“Oh, your back” Token said, “check this out.” He held up a metallic object that had been melted partially by the blaze. 

“Recognize it” Henrietta asked. 

“I do” Craig answered, 

“It’s the handcuffs that Wendy used when she threw Kyle into the pool.” 

“Yep looks like they’re making a second appearance in this case” Token said. 

“Never mind that we’ve got bigger problems” I said. 

“We found project UA info in the morgue, info that wasn’t there when I investigated the room yesterday.” 

“What” Henrietta shouted, “well what did it say?!” 

“It’s a list of all the project UA participants” Craig answered. “We were right, Eric is the mastermind, all of our names except for his are on this list.” 

“So, if he’s the mastermind and the killing game isn’t over, that means he’s not one of these dead bodies” Token said, he started looking towards us, “which means that the two bodies are.” 

I stopped him there, “we don’t know that yet Token. Until we can confirm with one hundred percent certainty that these two corpses are Tweek and Butters, I’m going to believe that they are still alive." We took one last look around the room, the oil drum and surveillance camera had both been destroyed. Whether or not Monokuma knows the identity of culprit is a big factor. Based on his responses to our questions theirs a chance he could be as in the dark as we are. We walked back up towards the main floor when we noticed that the door to the library was open, and none of us had opened it. 

“You don’t think” Craig began. 

“One way to find out” I answered already knowing what he was going to say. The four of us entered the library and much to our disappointment none of our missing classmates were in there, but someone had been snooping around in here the evidence on the table was proof enough of that. 

I walked over to the table and looked at the book reading the title aloud as I did, “The History of the Killing Game: A trilogy of Death.” 

“History” Craig asked. 

“Yeah apparently there have been other killing games before this one, each one of them had a different mastermind” I answered. 

“Who’s the author” Henrietta asked. 

“I don’t know it just says, Project Danganronpa” I answered. 

“What’s that in the back” Craig asked pointing to a sticky note in the back of the book. I flipped to the page it was on, it took me to two pages in the back of the book the left page was a page of the chapter titled: V3 and the right was the start of the Epilogue. The sticky note read, “we’re now part of history.” 

“This book is freaky, we better put it someplace safe for now, we’ll have time to research it more once we handle our current dilemma” Token said. 

“Agreed” I said, “we’ll put it in the motive video lock box in the kitchen.” 

We took the book up to the kitchen and I retrieved my key from my room. We placed it in the lock box and hid it in the kitchen once again. 

“Alright, let’s go over all the evidence one more time” I said sitting down at the table. “We’ve got the Star of David taken off the body closest to the door, which we’ll call Body A, and we’ve got Butters’s monopad underneath the second body near the engine, which we’ll call Body B.” 

“Tweek’s wedding ring was near body B as well” Craig said holding the ring. 

We had already logged it into the evidence app so if holding it gave Craig a little peace of mind I had no problem with that. 

“There was also damage to the fuse box and the engine as well as the oil drum that was completely destroyed and the handcuffs that were melted” Token said. 

“Most importantly the project UA list” Henrietta said. “The list that confirms Eric is the mastermind.” 

There is also the matter of what I discovered in the morgue freezer, but I need to keep that to myself so I can use it later. 

“Alright people it’s show time, all participants please report to the trial chamber” Monokuma said over the loud speaker. 

The four of us entered the elevator and it ascended up to the trial chamber. When we arrived, we noticed that Tweek’s, Butters’s, and Eric’s portraits had all been placed in their spots but there was no red X through them. 

“Monokuma we’re missing a few participants, where are the others” I asked. 

“I told you didn’t I, three of them are missing and we’ve got two bodies, it’s your job to figure out who’s who” he answered. “Now take your places, the trial’s about to begin and I have a feeling this one is gonna be a doozy.” 

It’s starting, the most difficult trial so far, not only do we have to find the culprit, but we also need to determine the victims. The consequences of each scenario aren’t good no matter how you do the math. But I can’t think about the what ifs right now, I have to focus, not just for the sake of surviving the trial, but for the sake of uncovering the truth. The truth about who is dead, and who is guilty, the truth about the mastermind and the spy, and the truth behind this whole killing game, the secrets are probably in that book and if I want to learn those secrets I need to expose the secrets of this case first.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Surviving Students: ??


	20. The Trial of Truth

“Now then let’s begin with a basic explanation of the class trial” Monokuma began, “during the trial you’ll present your arguments on the case, and vote for whodunit, vote correctly and only the blackened will be punished, but if you pick the wrong person, I’ll punish everyone besides the blackened and that person will” 

Henrietta cut him off, “we know how it works we’ve done this four times already, this makes number five.” 

“That’s true” Monokuma started, “but this trial is different from all the others you’ve faced before, and that’s because, I’ll be participating” 

“You will” Token asked. 

“Yepparoni, we’ve never had a case like this before, well one came close in the past but never like this, I’m so excited I would kick myself if I didn’t join in on the fun soooooooo, here comes a new challenger Monokuma brings the despair.” He answered.

“Where have I heard that reference before, or something similar” Token asked. “Wait that’s not important, what is important is figuring out the truth about our friends.”

I looked at Craig he was understandably distracted, he’s been looking at Tweek’s portrait since we entered the chamber. 

“Hey Craig” I started, it broke him out of his daydream and he looked back to me. “I know your worried about Tweek I get it, I’m worried about Butters as well, but the only way will be able to find out what happened to them is by completing this trial.” 

“Your right Mike” he said, “well what’re we waiting for let’s get this over with.” “

"Right, the first thing we should do is determine the identity of the bodies we found in the engine room” Henrietta said. “It won’t be easy but between the four of us, well five of us now, we should be able to figure it out.” 

“The first body, the one we’ve been calling body A, who do we think it belongs to” Henrietta asked. 

“Based on the three that are currently missing, it makes sense that the two bodies belong to Tweek and Butters” Token said. 

“…” Craig didn’t say a word, but something Token said contradicts with the evidence. 

“No that’s wrong!” I said, “It’s too early to definitively say who the bodies belong to, there’s evidence at the scene which throws the identities of the bodies into question.” 

“What evidence would that be” Token asked. 

“It’s not what evidence is present it’s what evidence is absent, there’s a body missing from the morgue” I answered. 

The others looked at me surprised, even Monokuma, I guess he missed that detail, I’ll deal with him later though, first things first. 

“Wait there’s a what missing from the morgue” Craig asked. 

“A body” I answered. 

“As we all know the bodies of our fallen friends and classmates are kept in the morgue post death, when I investigated it after the explosion I noticed one body was missing, but I couldn’t tell which one because they were all covered. Nevertheless, the fact that a body was stolen means we need to consider other possibilities besides our three missing classmates.” 

“Alright, then let’s continue discussing the matter” Token said. 

Craig glanced at me out of the corner of his eye, he knew I was lying and he must have figured out what my plan was. With Craig on board I can move onto phase two. 

“If a body was taken from the morgue” Token began, “then there’s the possibility that it is one of the two bodies in the engine room.” 

“Meaning that at least two of our classmates could still be alive” Henrietta said. 

“But what about the evidence you all collected from the scene” Monokuma said, “the only personal effects that were found were ones that belonged to two of the three missing classmates, Tweek’s ring and Butters’s monopad.” 

That last statement, it’s just what I need to prove my theory. “No that’s wrong” I said, “not so fast Monokuma there’s something you’re missing, and it proves the suspicions I’ve had since this case began.” 

“What are you talking about” Monokuma shouted. 

“There was something else on the body closest to the door, something that we confirmed didn’t belong to any of our missing classmates, but it did belong to a fallen one.” 

“Your lying, you can’t just make up evidence that’s not how a class trial works” he rebutted. 

“It’s a good thing this evidence isn’t made up” I countered. “We found a Star of David on the first body, the one nearest to the door, body A.” 

“The Star of David is a symbol from the Jewish religion” Henrietta said, “none of the missing students were Jewish, but one of the fallen ones is." 

“Your right and that’s why I’m certain Body A belongs to the Ultimate Rabbi, Kyle Broflovski, the missing body from the morgue matches the freezer that he was in” I said. 

“Hold on, you said that you couldn’t tell who was in what freezer” Monokuma said. 

“A little white lie to reveal a big truth, right Monokuma” I countered. Monokuma began to sweat, I didn’t think it was possible for a robot bear but on this ship, I’ll believe anything is possible. “Monokuma you didn’t know that did you, which leads me to believe your as in the dark as we are aren’t you” I accused. 

“Admit it bear, you don’t know anything about this case other then there’s two burnt corpses and a destroyed engine room” Craig said. “That’s why you decided to take part in this trial in the first place.

Monokuma didn’t speak for a moment but then eventually he gave in, “alright fine I admit it, I don’t know who the blackened or the spotless are in this case.” 

“No matter, since you’ve admitted it, you can help us figure out the truth of this case in earnest” Token said. 

“Ugh fine” Monokuma said crossing his arms. 

“Alright, now that that’s out of the way, how about we go over the movements of Tweek and Butters based on what we know so far” Henrietta suggested. 

“Sounds good” Craig said. “The last time I saw Tweek, was right before we went to bed, he seemed perfectly normal.” 

“What about Butters Mike” Token asked. 

“Same thing, he seemed pretty normal” I answered. 

“If the two of them were both in the same mindset” Craig said, “they must have snuck out together while we were asleep.” 

Our accounts line up with his statement, “I agree” I said. “Craig’s right, when I asked him about this earlier and compared it to my own testimony, I confirmed that both of our boyfriends did the exact same thing."

“Kissed us good night, and fell asleep cuddling with us” Craig said finishing my sentence. “But when the sound of the explosion woke us up, both Tweek and Butters were gone.” 

“So, with that we can theorize their movements from the time they were last seen, to the time of the explosion” Token said. 

“Right let’s do it” Henrietta said. “After leaving their respective rooms, Henrietta started, “Tweek and Butters probably headed down to the basement.” 

“Once they were down there, they probably ran into Eric” Token said. 

“If that’s true, then after the events of the fourth trial, the two of them definitely would’ve confronted him, maybe Eric is the one who died in that Engine room after all” Monokuma said. Hold on it’s too early to decide that Eric was the second body. 

“No that’s wrong” I said, “We can’t say for certain that Eric was the one who perished in that explosion, remember Tweek’s ring and Butters’s monopad were still in the room when we investigated it.” 

“There’s also another reason why Eric probably isn’t dead, he’s the mastermind after all” Henrietta said. I was hoping this wouldn’t be brought up so soon in the trial. No matter, I’ll say my piece now since we’re about to discuss it anyway. “I have my doubts that Eric is the mastermind” I said. “What” Henrietta shouted. “What’re you talking about, of course he’s the mastermind, the UA project list confirms it.” 

“Doesn’t it seem too easy though” I countered, “Minutes after we begin investigating the hardest case yet, we find a game changing clue that reveals the person behind all of this? I don’t know about you but I have my doubts, it’s way to convenient. I say we wait to determine the mastermind until after we confirm the identity of the second body.” 

Henrietta thought for a moment but eventually backed down, “alright fine but we’re not done talking about this. We will come back to this issue later.” 

“What should we talk about next” Token asked. 

“How about we talk about the room itself and what caused the explosion” Monokuma suggested. 

“I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I agree with Monokuma” Craig said, “if we can determine how the room was blown up we might be able to confirm whether or not it was Eric that did it.” 

“What caused the explosion” Craig asked. 

“We have a few options to consider” Token said, “theirs the possibility that the engine was damaged during a struggle of some sort and that triggered it.” 

“I don’t know about that” Henrietta said, “if that was the case wouldn’t we find more bodies?” 

“Not if the other bodies were disintegrated in the explosion.” Token answered. With the evidence we saw at the scene, I can tell what caused the explosion. 

“No that’s wrong” I said. “It wasn’t the engine that caused the explosion.” 

“How can you tell” Token asked. 

“When I investigated the room, I noticed something was off about the fuse box across from the engine” I answered. “It looked like a wire was cut and burned, all the evidence to suggest that it was sabotaged, someone probably turned the fuse box into a make shift explosive by messing with the wiring and lighting it up.” 

“Whoever did it must’ve had some knowledge on electrical wiring” Token said. 

“Maybe or maybe they looked up the information from the library” I said, “But that does raise a concern.” 

“What concern” Craig asked. 

“Eric’s title is the Ultimate NEET” I said, “meaning he had no training or education, I doubt he went out of his way to learn something if he never had or wanted an education to begin with.” 

“But that would mean that” Craig began, “the saboteur was either.” He was cut off by the PA system being activated. 

“Testing, testing is this thing on” a voice said. 

“That voice, it’s Eric’s” Token said. 

“Oh good, you guys can hear me and I can hear you” Eric said. 

“You bastard, what have you done with Tweek and Butters” Craig shouted. 

“I’m right here Craig” another voice said over the PA. It was Tweek’s voice and he and Eric weren’t alone. 

“Hey Mike, I’m here too.” Butters voice came over the loud speaker. 

This isn’t possible, there were two bodies in the engine room and only one was a reused corpse, something bigger is going on here and we need to find out what. More importantly Craig and I need to find out if those are really our boyfriends on that microphone. Surmise it to say, this trial is just getting started.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Surviving Students: 7(?)


	21. The Trial of Truth Part 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AUTHOR NOTE: This is it folks, the moment of truth we will finally discover the truth behind the fifth murder case I hope you all are ready for this. Also I hope you all like it this chapter was in all honesty a tough one to write and for a while I didn't think I'd have it done, but your kind words and your support has kept me going, so to thank you I'm giving you what I believe will be the most intense trial yet. I mean obviously it's intense after all their are two parts. But back to my point, I'd really like to hear your reactions to this so please keep those comments coming it really helps me when I'm writing chapters, as it has since the beginning. Once this trial is over, we will be entering the last case, the final showdown. Six is after all the magic number in Danganronpa. 
> 
> Just a heads up, the 6th case will be longer both in the story world and IRL. Truth be told I'm a college student who is coming up on Le Finals. That doesn't mean I'll stop cold turkey, but it might take me a little longer to push out chapters. Which, I planned to do anyway because the 6th case in the story world lasts for two weeks between all the parts of it. So yeah don't hate me guys. I'll still be answering asks and posting updates on the Tumblr I made so you guys can stay informed about Case 6 an how it's coming along
> 
> Speaking of which, I'd like to take this opportunity shamelessly promote the Tumblr blog I made for his fic. I want to chat with you guys about what you think about the fic. Yes the comment section is great but it's a means to an end. Soooooo if you wanna get to know the author of this crazy tale with more twists then a roller coaster. Copy the link below and hit that follow, once you do. Send me questions, leave posts, even praise your unwavering love for the two tone bear of despair if that's what you want. Whatever you guys wanna do is fine, hell get to know your fellow readers, I mean we obviously all have something in common. Link is below.
> 
> https://www.tumblr.com/blog/southparkdanganronpacrossover
> 
> Alright, here we go, the conclusion of the fifth trial, enjoy and i'll hopefully see you all on the other side.

PREVIOUSLY ON DANGANRONPA: Two unknown bodies, three missing students, a murder case so difficult even Monokuma doesn't know the answer. Only four of the seven students that were confirmed to be alive before the explosion have entered the class trial. There mission, to discover the truth about their missing classmates and who was killed in that machine room. Will they succeed? Will they fail? And what consequences await them at the end of the trial. Find out now on DANGANRONPA.

 

“How is this possible” Henrietta asked. “One of them should be dead.” 

“Hope you don’t mind if we join in on the trial” Eric said, “not that you assholes get a say in the matter.” 

“Hey don’t talk to our boyfriends that way” Tweek said. 

“Yeah” Butters said backing him up. 

“Are all of them really still alive” Token asked. 

“Monokuma can’t you access the chamber” I asked. “Go see if they’re all really there.” 

“I can tell just by looking at the door through my left eye, they’ve barred themselves in the room and disabled the security camera in the office” Monokuma announced. 

“Your left eye is connected to all the security cameras” Token asked. “

Man, it’s a good thing we took out the camera then right guys” Eric said. 

“Why don’t you guys come back to the trial chamber then” Craig suggested, “if you’re all really still alive then we’re done, no new body means no new trial.” 

“We can’t do that Craig” Tweek said. 

“Why not” Token asked. 

“Because one of us isn’t really here” Butters answered. We all were shocked and confused by the statement. 

“What do you mean babe” I asked. 

“One of us died in that room and the other two are pretending to be the third” Butters answered. 

“You guys gotta figure which one of us is dead” Eric said. 

Why, why go through all this trouble, it doesn’t make sense. But if the only way we’ll get them to come out of the office is to determine which one of them is dead and which one of them is the blackened, then that’s what we’re going to do. 

“Very well let’s continue our discussion of the saboteur, now that we have confirmed that two of our classmates survived there are a couple of possible scenarios that could have played out in regards to the sabotage” Token said. “If two of our classmates survived, it means one of them attempted to fake their own death.” 

“But until we figure out which one is dead, we can’t begin to determine who faked their death” Henrietta said. 

“There’s something else” Craig began, “body B, whoever it was, hadn’t gone to the machine room willingly.” Is he trying to lead the conversation somewhere? 

“Craig your talking about the melted handcuffs right” I asked. 

“Yeah” Craig answered “it may seem a little obvious, but I would like to point out that whoever body B is, he must have gotten jumped by the other two if they were able to handcuff him.” 

“Was there any external injuries on Body B” Monokuma asked. 

“If there were any we couldn’t tell because of the fire damage” I answered. 

“You know you guys are missing something totally obvious right” Eric said. 

“If Tweek or Butters wanted to kill me wouldn’t they have asked their boyfriends for help?” Token and Henrietta gasped and looked at us. 

“Something you’re not telling us” Token asked me. 

“No, I would never help Butters kill someone, I actually talked him out of it last night” I said. 

“Yeah, about that” Butters said, “Craig knows something you don’t, right Craig?” I looked at him his eyes were closed and his arms were crossed. 

“Craig, what is he talking about” I asked. 

“I may not have been exactly forth coming with the events of last night” he answered. Henrietta and Token turned their gaze towards him as well. 

“Go on Craig, tell them how you stabbed me in the arm” Eric said. We all gasped in shock at this revelation, then Craig spoke. 

“Let me preface this by saying that I had nothing to do with the explosion and when I left all three of them were alive.” 

“Hold on you saw them all last night” I asked. 

He nodded “yeah I followed Tweek down the stairs after he left our room I saw him with Butters and they had some things with them.” 

“What kinds of things” Token asked. 

“Well, Butters had the knife that Kenny used on Bebe a while back and the handcuffs that Wendy used on Kyle” Craig answered. 

I was shocked, horrified, the thought of Butters being the culprit never even crossed my mind until now, but, could it really be possible? 

“Tweek also had some items that he had brought with him” Craig continued, namely the poison Heidi used on Nichole or what was left of it and a device that was stolen from Wendy’s lab.” 

“A device” Monokuma asked. “Wait a minute is that what caused my wonderful surveillance cameras to go dark?” 

Craig didn’t answer him he just continued with his explanation, “once I confronted them on what they were doing, the two of them explained that they were going to confront Eric and subdue him.” 

“Noooooooo” Eric said, “don’t lie Craigo, the two of them came at me with the intent to kill.” Craig got a look in his eye, a look of recollection. 

“So, wait, you mean to tell me those two were going to kill Eric” Henrietta asked. “No way, they would never kill, out of all of us they were probably the only two who wouldn’t.” 

“To be fair, you guys said the same thing about the rest of the blackened” Monokuma said. 

“The three of us confronted Eric in the morgue and I cut him in the arm with the knife so we could subdue him.” Craig continued. 

“Didn’t we find the UA list in the morgue” Token said interrupting him. “Maybe Eric found it and hid it there so we wouldn’t find any more UA info.” That’s probably why I didn’t find it the first time.

“I agree” I said, “That theory is plausible, the UA list wasn’t discovered until after the explosion. If that’s the case, then my theory of Eric possibly not being the mastermind becomes less exaggerated.” 

“What do you mean” Henrietta asked. 

“If Eric had the list before we found it then there’s a chance the list was forged” I answered. 

“Yeah that’s toootaalllyyyy something I would do” Eric said jokingly. 

“Is that a confession” Craig asked. 

“Heh you wish” Eric answered. 

“Anyway, what happened next Craig” Token asked. 

“Once I disabled Eric, I left and went back to my room, Tweek and Butters were going to handle the rest” he answered. 

“The rest” Henrietta asked.

“Yeah Tweek and Butters were adamant on this next part of their plan, a plan that involved making an unsolvable murder and ruining the killing game” Craig answered. All of us were shocked at this late revelation even Monokuma. 

He was also of course understandably angry, “they were trying to what?! They were going to ruin MY killing game?!” I couldn’t help but chuckle, seeing the bear angry brought some sense of satisfaction to me. 

“That’s all I know, like I said I left after that, I was promised that Eric wouldn’t die by Tweek’s hand” Craig said. 

“So now we have a timeline of events and actions, Craig roughly how long was it between the time you left them and the time the explosion took place” I asked. 

“Long enough for me to walk up two flights of stairs, I was about to open the door to my room when the explosion rocked the boat, then I came to Butters’s room and you know the rest. There’s one more thing that I picked up on just now, Eric just called me Craigo.” 

“What’s your point” Token asked. 

“Only Tweek has ever called me that” Craig answered, “no one even knows that he calls me that, it’s pretty much a pet name.” 

“I’m missing the point” Henrietta said. I was shocked when I realized what Craig was implying, 

“Tw-Tweek’s alive” I said, “Tweek’s alive aren’t you Tweek!” No voice replied for a while it was an awkward silence, “babe please” Craig said breaking the silence. 

“If your alive babe please come back to me, I need you!” 

“C-Craig” Tweek said. 

“Please come back to me, my dandelion” Craig pleaded. 

“It’s-It’s really me Craig” Tweek said, “I’ve wanted to tell you that since the trial began!” 

“So that means Tweek is alive” Henrietta said, “one down, one to go.” 

“Craig, finish this trial and then I’ll be with you again” Tweek said, I’ll help you out, a prize for discovering one of the two survivors.”

“Alright, now that we have Tweek back, let’s get back to it” I said. “After Craig left, Tweek and Butters must have used the handcuffs on Eric. Based on their positioning o the burnt corpse, or rather what was left of them they were on someone when the room went up in flames.” 

“Doesn’t that mean that the two of them killed Eric then” Henrietta asked. 

“Yeah right, do you really think those two homos could kill me” Eric shouted over the PA system. 

“Besides you’re missing a step” Butters said. “It’s ok Craig you can tell them, the promise was kept.” Once again, our gazes fell on Craig, he hesitated for a moment, then spoke. 

“I didn’t just stab Eric once, I stabbed him twice in the same spot, the second time was after I coated the knife, with angel’s trumpet poison.” All of us were shocked once more. 

“Craig you know that poison is lethal” Token said. 

“I’m well aware” he answered “but based on Butters’s choice of words just now, either Eric survived or something else did him in besides my cut.” 

“Butters what is he talking about” I asked. 

“Once Craig stabbed him with the poison the plan needed to change” Butters answered, “which is why Tweek threatened to ingest the rest of the poison if Craig didn’t leave immediately, Craig didn’t leave because his part had been done, he was forced to leave.” 

“Meanwhile, while Tweek was threatening his boy toy I was laying on the ground writhing in pain” Eric said, “and then he passed out” Tweek said. 

“No I didn’t, don’t lie you coffee tweaked homo, I stayed fully conscious, handcuffed but conscious” Eric countered. “All right that’s all the help your getting from us, figure out the rest.” The PA system shut off and there was no further communication from them. 

“So, what now Monokuma” I asked. 

“There’s a problem, even I can’t tell who’s telling the truth” he answered. “It’s pretty much confirmed that Tweek is still alive but as for the other I don’t know who it is.” 

“Isn’t it obvious, Butters is the other who survived” Token said. 

“There’s a chance that’s not true” Monokuma said, “because there is a first aid kit in the biology lab, AKA the morgue, with a bottle of ipecac in it.” 

All of us gasped, we all knew what that drug could do, “meaning if Eric got his hands on it he could’ve thrown up the poison grabbed the knife and killed Butters while he and Tweek were figuring out what to do with him” Craig said. “Monokuma, where exactly was the first aid kit?” 

“It’s next to the sink across from the desk” Monokuma answered. 

“Then there’s no way Eric got it” Craig said. “When I left he was on the ground, barely able to move, if the first aid kit was in the desk then maybe he could’ve gotten it, but there’s no way he got it that far away.” 

“So, if the poison cut wasn’t treated but Craig’s cut didn’t kill him, then he must’ve been alive when the explosion happened” Token said. 

“If what Butters said is true, Craig said. There’s still a chance that my poison cut did kill Eric and this is all part of their lie to end the killing game.”

“It doesn’t matter how he died at the moment” Henrietta said. What does matter is that we confirmed Eric is Body B. Isn’t that right Butters.” 

The PA system didn’t come back on for another few moments, I guess more proof is required. 

“Let’s assume that Eric is dead, that means that he isn’t the mastermind” I said. “If he was the mastermind then we wouldn’t be here because the game would be over. Craig you said you saw Eric bring the UA list into the morgue, right?” 

“Yeah” Craig answered, no mistake I looked directly at it before I put it in the drawer.” 

“If he put the list together resulting in it leading us to believe that he is the mastermind" I began, "and he’s dead because of the explosion, then that can leave only one conclusion.” At that moment the three of them realized what I had concluded. 

“Eric was the spy” Henrietta shouted. 

“But if Eric was the spy, then that means the mastermind is still alive” Token shouted. 

“There’s only one place the mastermind can be hiding, inside the one room we couldn’t investigate, Eric’s lab” I said. “It was barred by something, and we couldn’t gain access. If Eric was the spy then he’d of course let the mastermind hide in his lab, I’d even venture a guess that Monokuma’s office is connected to Eric’s lab. Eric went out of his way to make us all hate him so of course no one wanted to hang out with him.” 

“Not that this isn’t all very riveting” Monokuma said, “but we still don’t know how Eric died.” 

“No that’s wrong” I said. “Monokuma we do know how he died and we know who the culprit is as well.” 

“Is that right” Monokuma said, “and who pray tell is the culprit?” 

That’s right, I know who the culprit is or rather who the culprits are, all the pieces and theories line up, if everything that was said is true then they’re the ones who did it. I’m sorry Craig, I’m sorry Tweek, I’m sorry, Butters, maybe, if I hadn’t been so foolish, maybe, if I had gone after Eric along with you after Clyde’s death, maybe, if I had just abandoned hope and gave into despair, maybe…

“You gonna keep us all in suspense or are you gonna tell us who killed Eric Mike” a voice over the PA said, it was Butters, he had reactivated the speaker. “Go on babe, don’t lose sight of the truth, don’t give into despair now that you’ve come this far. You know, don’t you? The face your making, it’s the same face you made when you figured out that Heidi killed Nichole. I remember, I saw it crystal clear, just like I’ve seen it every other trial, the gaze you make when you determine the blackened. Tweek and I, we’ve already prepared ourselves, so end this madness once and for all.” 

Butters, you, your stronger than anyone I’ve ever known, if you truly want me to reveal the truth no matter what the consequences, then I will. I will fulfill your wish. 

“Tweek and Butters killed Eric, they did it by handcuffing him, dragging him to the machine room, and sabotaging the fuse box so it would explode before the poison cut Craig gave him did him in.” 

“What” Craig shouted, “what did you say Mike?! I thought you were my friend, our friend, how could you accuse my husband of such an act, maybe Butters did it alone, did you ever think of that!” Craig was in a rage he wasn’t thinking clearly. “I’ll never forgive you for this Mike, you hear me!” 

“CRAIG STOP” Tweek shouted at the top of his lungs, he wasn’t on the PA, it came from behind me, I turned around to see Butters and Tweek standing in the elevator. 

“Tweek” Craig said, he ran over to him and kissed him tears running down both of there faces. 

“Mike, do me a favor, explain it all to my Craigo here from the beginning so that way he understands, don’t worry it’s like Butters said, we’ve prepared ourselves for what’s going to happen." 

“Tweek, alright, then one last time” I started. 

“The truth of the case is revealed!” 

“Let’s go over the case from the beginning, a case that had even more twists and turns then we originally thought. Originally, we believed that the culprits in this case had left without waking either Craig or myself up, but we now know that’s not true. In actuality, culprit two accidentally woke Craig up but didn’t realize it right away. Unaware that Craig was following him, culprit two went down to the basement leading him right to culprit one. 

Craig, looking on from the shadows of the stair case, saw both culprits each carrying a few items. Culprit one was carrying the knife that Kenny used on Bebe in the first case as well as the handcuffs that Wendy used on Kyle in the third case. That’s when Craig noticed that culprit two had the poison Heidi used on Nichole in the second case. Seeing all three of these murder weapons, Craig confronted the two culprits revealing himself from the shadows. 

Not being able to conceal the truth from him any longer, culprit two explained the events that were going to happen. They told him that their goal was to use the knife to injure the victim in this case. Once that was done, They were probably going to cuff him and force him to drink the poison so his death would be ruled a suicide. That’s probably the part Craig didn’t mention, just another way he helped them with their plan. In order to make sure that happened they stole something from Wendy’s lab. 

It turned out that Wendy had been working on electronic disabling technology and had been keeping logs about them before she was executed. Once they discovered that there was one device that was fully functional, they stole it from her lab. All things considered the plan seemed straight forward. Disable the camera in the machine room, subdue Eric, and force him to drink the poison, at least that’s how it was supposed to go. 

The culprits noticed that Eric was walking into the morgue with a piece of paper, they saw their chance to strike and they took it. Craig said that he would be the one to use the knife, he argued that he had the most experience fighting and would be able to subdue Eric more easily. The three of them cornered Eric in the morgue and Craig successfully subdued him by slashing his left arm. Culprit one handcuffed Eric while Craig looked at the sheet he was carrying, it turned out that the sheet was the list of the UA participants, which we can assume was falsified. 

Eric’s name wasn’t on that list because he wanted to exact revenge on his partner, the true mastermind, who betrayed him when he wiped his memory at the beginning of the killing game like the rest of us. Eric was probably going to reveal the true mastermind when we confronted him, but of course that never ended up happening. Seeing that list and Eric’s smug expression Craig flew into a rage, he poured the poison onto the knife and ran into Eric’s wound. 

Because it was a smaller dose of the poison, seeing how most of it was used on Nichole, the poison would take longer to take effect. Culprit two screamed at Craig telling him that the plan was ruined and that now he would become the blackened. He grabbed the bottle of poison and threatened to drink the few drops that were left if Craig didn’t leave immediately. According to what Stan said a while back, the poison was incredibly lethal any amount ingested or put into the blood stream would kill the person, but the less you take the slower it takes to kill. Culprit one assured Craig that he wouldn’t let Culprit two or Eric die because of him. Craig was reassured and left the basement returning to his room. 

The two culprits knew exactly what they had to do, in order to spare Craig’s life, they had to create a murder that no one could solve and they had to make sure that they were the ones that did Eric in just in case we ended up solving this case. The two culprits dragged Eric to the engine room and just before entering used Wendy’s device to disable the cameras. Once that was done they begun to set the stage for an unsolvable murder. The culprits grabbed Kyle’s body from the morgue and placed it in the oil drum. Once that was done they placed two personal effects on the floor, items that they wouldn’t or couldn’t be caught dead without. This was a gamble because if the explosion they caused had blasted away the things they left the plan would’ve been foiled. Their mistake was leaving Kyle’s Star of David around his neck, they probably believed that it would be destroyed in the explosion because it was not made of the same material that Monokuma used on the Culprits’ monopad and ring. 

With everything in place, they rigged the fuse box into a time bomb. Once that was done, they both lit a match and ran out of the room which is what caused the burn marks on the wires. They made it into the one place they knew no one would be able to access, Monokuma’s or rather the mastermind’s office, they cut through Eric’s lab in order to accomplish this. Eric was the mastermind’s partner so of course he would have access to their base of operations. Before they went into the office they barred the door to Eric’s lab and took some information critical to the killing game. They made it into the office just in time for the explosion to occur and locked themselves in making sure the camera was disabled before entering. 

When we arrived, all we discovered was two bodies and the two culprit’s items. The reason Craig panicked wasn’t because he didn’t know where his husband was, it’s because he believed something went wrong and the two culprits were the ones caught in the explosion. Safely secured inside the mastermind’s office the two culprits believed they had successfully created an unsolvable murder as well as eliminate the spy which they had planned to do from the start. By creating a murder that even Monokuma couldn’t figure out they saved Craig, and they planned to save themselves by making us conclude that Eric was guilty and voting for him. Once we voted and Monokuma declared him the blackened the two real culprits would reveal themselves, thereby forcing the killing game's end by a technicality. 

The two culprits who almost committed the perfect crime, culprit one and culprit two, also known as the Ultimate Child Psychologist and the Ultimate Barista, Tweek Tucker and Leo “Butters” Stotch.

I didn’t want to believe it, even as I uttered the names of the culprits, as I’ve done with four of our other friends, I didn’t want to believe it.

Tweek chuckled, “you got it right Mike, even the parts you weren’t a hundred percent sure about like the matches we used to light up the fuse box, and, about the way we planned to end the killing game. Butters and I murdered Eric together, by striking two matches at the same time and each lighting one of the sabotaged wires, we both became guilty of murder. Even your theory about the mastermind's office being connected to Eric's lab was correct."

“We should’ve guessed you’d figure it out” Butters said. "But before we go any further, we’ve got votes to cast, it’s voting time after all.”

Craig’s eyes widened as did my own, we both realized what we had to do now, the cruelest act life would hand us, we had to vote our boyfriends guilty, which of course would lead to the one thing that would break our hearts. 

“I can’t Tweek” Craig shouted grabbing Tweek by the shoulder blades, “if I vote you guilty you’ll be executed, please don’t ask me to do that.” Craig was crying harder than I’ve ever seen him cry before.

Tweek looked him in the eye and raised his chin so Craig would do the same, “Babe if you don’t vote you’ll die and I can’t ask you to lay down your life for me, because if you do who will avenge me, who will honor my memory, only you can do it. You feel the same way don’t you, Butters.” 

Butters walked over to me and started holding my hands, “Mike, you’ve done so much for me ever since Kenny’s death, now I have one last request and it’s the cruelest one I could ever ask of you. Set me free, the fact of the matter is I committed murder so I’ll probably end up in the same place as the other blackened. I love you, but all the love in the world can’t save me from what will happen shortly.” I could barely see him at this point, my eyes were flooded with tears, but, if this is what he truly wants, if he truly wants to die for his crime, then I can’t stand in his way no matter how much it breaks my heart.

I nodded to him and he smiled, he gave me a kiss knowing full well it would be the last one I ever got from him. Tweek did the same to Craig and then they both walked to their podiums. 

“Listen everyone, in order for this to work we need to vote evenly, three votes for Tweek, and three votes for me. Token, you Craig and Tweek will vote for him. Mike, you Henrietta and I will vote for me. It’s will give us both peace of mind knowing that it was our lovers that set us free from this hell.” 

Token and Henrietta both agreed, they were crying as well, this is the first trial Henrietta has ever cried at, she cried for Jimmy but no one else. Craig and I looked at each other knowing full well what we had to do. 

“Monokuma” Tweek began, would you do the honors?” 

“No, I won’t” Monokuma answered, “the rules of the class trial still apply, but I don’t deserve the pleasure. Tweek, Butters if you want the honor, you can have it.” Tweek and Butters looked at each other and smiled. 

“The heart racing excitement” Tweek began.

“As the blackened and the spotless finally face off” Butters chimed in. Then in complete sync with each other, the two said the phrase that Craig and I dreaded hearing.

“It’s Voting Time!”

Our panels lit up, I’ve never hesitated so much in my life, I couldn’t hit the button on my own no matter how much Butters wanted me to. In the end it took Butters grabbing my hand and guiding it on the panel and casting my vote for him. I looked to my right and saw Tweek do the same for Craig. The votes were in and the screen lit up, it was a tie, Butters and Tweek were both voted the blackened.

“Who will be chosen as the blackened, will you make the right choice or the dreadfully wrong one” Monokuma said. Then the wheel appeared next to him, there were two black lines instead of one this time and they each landed on Butters and Tweek respectively. 

“Your correct, for the first time ever in killing game history, the TWO culprits are, Butters Stotch and Tweek Tucker. The two smiled, their eyes closed they looked just like Kenny did when we figured out he was the blackened. 

“Butters, Tweek, I have to know” I said, “why, why did you do this?” 

“Like you said earlier, we did it to end the killing game” Tweek answered.

“But that’s not the only reason” Butters said, we were a little selfish at first, when we first came up with the plot we planned on doing it to avenge Clyde, however once we discovered Eric was working for the mastermind, we had felt justified in our actions.

“When exactly did you confirm Eric’s true identity” Henrietta asked.

“When we barred ourselves in his lab” Butters answered, the info we took while we were there not only confirmed Eric was the spy, but. Butters hesitated before he spoke his next sentence. 

“It also confirmed the identity of the true mastermind.”

We were shocked beyond belief, we were one step away from learning who was behind all of this.

“Who, who is it” Craig asked in a frantic tone.

“Stop right there” Monokuma said, “not another word about the mastermind from either of you. If you reveal the mastermind then so help me I’ll punish everyone here.” 

“You can’t do that, it’s against the school rules” Token shouted.

“So what, rules don’t apply to corpses” Monokuma countered in the most menacing voice I’ve ever heard.

“Fine I won’t say their name, but know this, the mastermind is on this ship, but they are not in this room” Tweek said. As he said that Butters faced became more depressed. 

“Now then I believe our time has come” Butters said looking at Tweek. Craig understood what that meant and ran up to Tweek hugging him tight and refusing to let him go. 

“Please, don’t leave me behind Tweek” Craig said, at the same time I was holding Butters just as tightly and pleading for him to not leave me either. 

“You know we can’t do that Mike” Butters said, “the rules are crystal clear, we killed and got caught which means we die.” Those words, they were the same ones Monokuma told Butters just before Kenny was executed. Butters let me go and Tweek did the same to Craig. 

“Don’t lose” Tweek shouted, “bring down the mastermind and end this killing game!” 

“Will be watching over you with the others” Butters said, “send the mastermind to the gallows and avenge all who have fallen.”

“We leave the rest to you guys, the killing game’s final four” Tweek said, “and Craig I promise you that in our next life we will meet again even if I have to search the entire world looking for you.”

“Not just you two, all of us along with those who have already passed on as well. In our next lives we will find each other, no matter what it takes, that’s a promise ok” Butters said.

Craig and I couldn’t speak but we were able to nod in agreement.

“Token, Henrietta, take care of them for us will you” Tweek asked.

“Of course, we will see you guys in our next life” Token said.

Tweek and Butters smiled closing their eyes once more, only for a moment, then reopening them as they turned to face Monokuma. 

“We’re ready when you are” Tweek said. 

“Ok then, I’ve prepared special punishments for Tweek Tucker and Butters Stotch, the Ultimate Barista and Child Psychologist, Monokuma said. Granted I didn’t have time to make new ones, so here’s a remix on two classics.” Monokuma hesitated, the look in his eye, or rather the look in the mastermind’s eye whoever they were, they didn’t want to do this either, and in the end that would become our first clue to discovering their identity.

“Let’s give it everything we’ve got, it’s…. punishment time.”

Monokuma hit his button with his gavel and the animation appeared once more but this time the screen was cut in half, one side for each of the blackened. Tweak on the left and Butters on the right, “Tweek and Butters have been found guilty, commencing executions.”

Both of them fell through trap doors leading to the execution chambers, Tweek fell into a giant coffee pot, the graphic that appeared read, “Fresh Pot: Ultimate Barista Tweek Tucker’s Execution: executed.” As Tweek stood in the center of the pot, hot coffee began pouring into it, slowly it rose and rose burning Tweek’s body from his feet up to his head. At first, he floated up with it, but eventually it became too much for him. He died at the bottom of the pot. Death by drowning, throughout it all even when the coffee burned his skin he was smiling and holding the wedding ring that Craig had given him during there last embrace. He died thinking of his husband, they truly were together till death did them part. 

Butters execution was different, however Tweek’s smile carried over to him. I never knew if it was due to me or the fact that he would finally be free of this place, but either way it didn’t matter as long as he was happy in his final moments. Butters was sitting in a chair with a therapy couch in front of him, laying on the couch was Monokuma, they were on a moving platform that began to move in the opposite direction that Butters was facing, picture a conveyer belt with a cut out of a carpet that had a couch and chair on it and you’ll understand what I mean. At the end of the platform was a black circular container with an opening in the front. The graphic read, “Psychotic Meltdown: Ultimate Child Psychologist Butters Stotch Execution: Executed. The platform kept moving down the conveyer belt slowly getting closer and closer to the container. When Butters was right in front of it, the carpet split into two and the half that Butters was on went into the container, the door shutting as he did. A moment later the circular container went ablaze, it was then I realized that what my love had just been placed in was an incinerator, the only solace was that his death was probably instantaneous. Like Tweek his smile never left his face even at the moment the incinerator doors closed. 

The screen shut off and retracted, I watched it, every moment, I couldn’t look away and at the moment it ended, I felt my legs give out under me and I fell to the floor, all I remember was everything going black, Butters and Tweek’s executions had caused me to pass out. For a moment I thought I’d never wake up but I did and when I did I was in the nurse’s office with Henrietta looking over me, I looked to my left and saw Craig on the bed next to me and Token over him, he had fainted as well, mere seconds after his husband died. Where do we go from here, what do we do, Butters and Tweek knew the mastermind’s identity but they took it to their graves in order to save us. I can’t let their deaths be in vain, the next person to suffer an execution will be the mastermind, I swear on my fallen lover’s life.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Surviving Students: 4


	22. Rest and Recharge

I shot up quickly to a sitting position only to have Henrietta stop me halfway. 

“Whoa whoa, take it easy Mike, you and Craig have been through a lot so just take it slow.” 

I laid back down and looked over to Craig he was awake as well. 

“Craig, we, we weren’t dreaming right” I asked, “last night, Tweek and Butters they, they were executed right?” 

Craig nodded, “they’re gone Mike, but it wasn’t last night.” 

“What do you mean” I asked. 

“We’ve been out cold for three days” Craig answered. 

My eyes widened and my jaw dropped, three days, three days we’ve been asleep. 

I looked down towards the floor and asked Token and Henrietta, “what have we missed?” 

“Not much” he answered, “we put up Eric’s photo, but Tweek and Butters we saved for you guys.” I slowly got out of bed and looked to Craig tears rolling down my eyes. 

“Craig” I started, “I’m so sorry, I’ve been a terrible friend, if I had just kept my mouth shut your husband wouldn’t be dead.” 

“Stop” he said cutting me off, “I don’t blame you, or Tweek or even Eric for the shit storm we’ve just endured.” He stood up and made a fist, “we all know whose responsible, and we’re gonna make that son of a bitch pay.” 

“Craig” I said. 

“Not just for Tweek and Butters, but for everyone whose died, everyone whose lives were lost because of this damn killing game!” 

“Your right Craig” I said standing up to meet his gaze, “so what’re we waiting for, we’ve got a mastermind to kill.” 

“I appreciate your enthusiasm guys” Token started, “but you’re in no condition to be doing anything right now. You guys just lost your lovers and worse of all you had to vote for them to be executed. Take a break, lord knows we all need it after everything we’ve been through, besides, we’re all that’s left, we can’t be foolish about what we do from this point on, unless we want more casualties we need to play it cool for now.” 

“He’s right, plus we need time to mourn the dead” Henrietta said. 

As much as I hated to admit it, they were right, even if we knew who the mastermind was we wouldn’t even begin to know where to start looking for them. 

“Come on” Token said, “you guys need to eat, and we know what we have to do.” 

The three of us followed him to the cafeteria, walking in and seeing none of our classmates and knowing that it was because they were dead was an emotional feeling to be sure. Craig and I walked over to the honor the fallen table, we saw Eric’s photo, just as Token said it was there, he may have been a spy and a traitor but at the very least we shouldn’t disgrace the dead even if they deserved it. 

“You ready” Craig asked. 

“Yeah let’s do it” I answered. 

We reached into the box and pulled out Tweek and Butters’s pictures, we held them for a moment before placing them on the table. Token and Henrietta walked out with some food and drinks and the four of us sat down to eat. It was a quiet meal, similar to the one we had after Kenny’s execution, hard to believe how many of our friends we’ve lost since then. How many memories, both good and painful, we’ve made since the killing game began. The wedding, the special outfits, the bachelor’s parties, …, the murders, the motives, the loss of sanity that has plagued so many of our fallen friends. 

“Hey Mike are you alright” Craig asked. He had snapped me out of my trance, recollecting everything that has happened had made me lose focus for a moment. 

“Yeah just, just thinking ya know” I said. Craig smiled, closed his eyes, and put his hand on my shoulder. 

“I miss them too” he said, “we all do after all we’ve lost twelve friends some of them we were very close to, some we loved, some we wish we had gotten to know better. Everything we do from now on, we do for them, that’s how will honor them, and when we finally escape this place, will take those portraits with us and hold a proper memorial for each and every one of them.” Henrietta and Token agreed with Craig as did I. “And we will get out of here, no matter what it takes, even if we have to swim back to the mainland we will get out of here.” 

“Craig’s right” I said standing up, “as long as we have hope we can’t lose, as long as we have hope we can’t die, as long as we have hope we can defeat despair!” 

Our words inspired each other and before we knew we were all standing up, a look of determination on each of our faces. The day seemed to go rather quickly, the four of us spent most of it together relaxing and recuperating, we had to rest now because soon things would be getting much more difficult. I had just gotten back to my room for the night when I heard a knock on my door, in my mind I thought it would be Butters behind it, as it has been so many times before but I knew that wouldn’t be the case. I opened the door and there was Craig standing in the doorway. 

“Can we chat for a minute” he asked. 

“Yeah sure what’s up” I asked. 

“Not here, meet me on the pool deck” he said. I nodded, got changed back into my day clothes and went up to the pool deck, there I saw Craig leaning forward against the railing. I walked over and joined him leaning backwards against it, “so what’s up” I asked. 

“Look at the stars Mike” he said, “do you think Tweek’s up there? I like to think he is. Back when we were kids I would take him to look at the stars during the summer, we’d sit there and I’d ramble on about some space trivia. I knew he really wasn’t interested in space but even so he sat there wide eyed and smiling. A while back I had a memory return to me, it was the day that we were chosen to be Ultimates, do you remember that day?” 

“Yeah I do” I answered, in truth my memories had been returning a lot more frequently but with all the craziness of the last few weeks I hadn’t really thought about it. 

“It was back in high school, I remember it clear as day, that was the day that Tweek’s life went to hell.”


	23. A Creek of Memories

“It was late fall, Halloween had just happened if I remember correctly” Craig began. “At the time things between Tweek and I were, complicated. We had gotten into a fight the year before over his parents, he was in denial about the fact that his parents were lacing his coffee with meth just like they had been doing to the entire town. That fight ended up causing a break up, and for a while we couldn’t even look at each other. Clyde was there for me back then, Token too, Tweek had the girls and well, Stan, Kyle, Kenny, and Butters were off doing their own thing. Come to think of it, that Fall was when you came to us right?” 

“Yeah” I said, “It was right after I lost my senate seat and gained my Ultimate Title.” 

“Hold on I thought you got your title because of your senate seat” Craig asked.

“Turns out I was remembering it wrong” I said, “but I’ll tell my story later, keep going with Tweek’s if you want to that is.”

“Yeah” Craig replied, “Well around the time you showed up the guys from Project UA began snooping around, they were looking for the best of the best for their special project, and so they came to South Park High, hell if I know why though, South Park was never anything special. Anyway, they assembled a bunch of us in the gym, in total fourteen of us.” 

“Fifteen” I said, “I was there but UA had already picked me up so they kept me in the shadows since I was already recruited.” 

“Ok, definitely coming back to that later” Craig said, the goons told us that we had been selected for the UA project and we were to become Ultimates, famous high school students that would make the world a better place, all of us that were here on that first day, were the same ones UA recruited. 

Anyway, they told us that we had to come away with them to hone our talents and gave each of us a permission slip and pamphlet on what the project was all about. That’s when I realized that Tweek was there too, we had both been chosen to become Ultimates, I thought it was a sign, a sign that we could work things out between us. 

After they finished their speech they left and said they’d return to hear our answers, granted it didn’t matter since they gassed and grabbed us. We were walking out of the gym and I tapped Tweek on the shoulder, he flinched in pain, and it wasn’t because of me. I wanted to catch up and make nice but like the idiot I am I asked him what was up with his shoulder, tactful I am not. He shouted at me, told me it wasn’t any of my damn business and just because we were both going to be part of this project didn’t mean we had to be friends or anything. He took off after that, later that night I decided to apologize so I went to his family’s coffee shop, that’s when I heard the sound of glass breaking and Tweek screaming. I ran into the store to see Tweek on the ground his arm bleeding from the glass hid dad had just thrown at him. 

According to the police report, Tweek had told his parents about project UA and they freaked out, no son of mine is gonna go off with some government hacks, I need you here to get the coffee shop customers, that was the last thing Tweek’s dad said to him. Things only got worse from there I ran through the door and gave his father a right hook to the jaw, he fell back instantly. Tweek called out to me and asked me what I was doing there, I tried to explain but I didn’t have time, Tweek’s dad had grabbed a pot of hot coffee and threw it at me. Tweek he, he pushed me out of the way, but he wasn’t quick enough to save himself. He took a whole pot of scalding hot coffee right to the face. He started screaming in pain and his face had turned bright pink.” 

Craig stopped for a minute and took a deep breath.

“It gets worse” he said, “like the idiot I am I ran out of the store and called the cops, I waited outside for them to show, but, that was a big mistake, I shouldn’t have left Tweek’s side, because when I did his dad locked the doors, put a gun to Tweek’s head and took him hostage. His dad refused to stand down, it was a family matter, he kept shouting, all the years of taking meth laced coffee finally got to him. In the end the snipers shot Tweek’s dad in the head, he was dead before he hit the floor, Tweek was covered in coffee burns and blood.” 

“Dear god” I said, “that’s terrible, how can anyone’s parents be that cruel?” 

“Sometimes god just likes to screw you over” Craig said, “he spent weeks in the hospital after that and I never left his side, in time we grew close and I remembered why I fell in love with him. But then the goons from UA showed up in Tweek’s hospital room, they wanted both of us to come with them but my parents had already said no and Tweek’s parents had made their position quite clear when they took their kid hostage. We didn’t go with them, and I left the hospital that night to go back home. That night, was the night UA gassed and grabbed us. When I woke up I was surrounded by the rest of you guys, I asked them what the hell did they do to us, and those goons lying through their teeth said that our parents changed their minds. Then they told me Tweek was in rehab and he’d be joining us soon. A month goes by and sure as shit Tweek shows up. At that point I didn’t care that we’d lost contact with our families, I didn’t care that we had to be moved because the place we were staying at got torched, all I cared about was making sure Tweek was ok. He was officially given his Ultimate Barista title and went through training same as us. The training paid off we each were able to use our Ultimate talents to achieve great things. Of course, you know this already, you were there for this part if memory serves.” 

“Yeah” I said, “by this point we had all met and had gotten close, hard to believe we had forgotten all of that when we were kidnapped and brought here.”

“Memory wipes will do that to you” Craig said, “Tweek and I had gained the memory of that night the day before I asked him to marry me. We stayed up all night just holding each other, I needed to keep him calm, to reassure him that we’d never be apart again. Now he’s gone and I couldn’t keep my promise.”

Craig was crying at this point, I knew he and Tweek went way back, but to go through that much hell and only being a high school student, god truly was cruel when it came to the two of them. 

“Craig” I said, I walked up and hugged him, “I don’t have any words that I can say to make this right, or to bring him back but what I do know is that your husband has got to be one of the strongest people I’ve ever known, not only did he go through that ordeal with his parents, but he stared his own death in the face and smiled as he passed on. You may think you broke your promise to him, that you failed to keep him safe, but he was able to keep you safe and that’s what being married is all about, it’s not just you protecting him, and it’s not just him protecting you, it’s both of you protecting each other.” 

Craig had fallen to his knees and was crying even harder now than he did earlier. 

“Now you can make a new promise to him, you can promise to fulfill his wish, the one that he gave you in the trial chamber. You can promise to avenge him and end the killing game, look up at the stars Craig, he’s up there right now looking at you, promise him that you’ll avenge him, promise him that you’ll end this nightmare, and promise him that you’ll meet him in your next life. 

Craig screamed, “I promise Tweek! I promise to avenge you, to end this game, and to honor your memory till my dying breath!”

Craig stood up he looked at me and said, “thanks for listening to me Mike, you’re a real friend. Next time I’ll listen to your tragic past.” He chuckled and made for the stairs heading back to his room. I remained on the deck for a moment longer, the memories I’ve recovered, the truths I’ve uncovered, will he really still call me friend when I tell him that I wasn’t recruited by project UA, but that I joined them by choice.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Surviving Students 4


	24. The Birth of the Ultimate Politician

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AUTHOR NOTE: Hey guys just a quick update for you all, so not only do we have a Tumblr, but now we also have an Instagram, I know right it's wonderful. So what do we have this Instagram for you may be asking? Well recently one of our readers messaged me on Tumblr asking if they could do some fan art for the fic and of course I accepted. Any who we got to talking and they gave me the idea to create the Insta page. So if y'all want to draw some fan art and send it to me I'll post it on the page and of course give you guys credit. Or if your not the best artist in the world (believe me I'm not) and you just wanna see some fan art other readers have made, or maybe even you just wanna DM me and ask me questions about the fic that's totally fine. Anyway the Instagram Handle is
> 
> @danganronpasouthstorm
> 
> Just head over to Instagram follow the page and there ya go. I look forward to seeing hopefully you all there. Now then let's get to the main event, it's time we look at Mike's past.

I made my way back to my room after my vent session with Craig, the story he told me about Tweek still rocking me to the core. I entered my room and sat on my bed. Craig told me something really personal to him and I’m not strong enough to tell him the truth. I remember it like it was yesterday, I was on the state senate floor after I won the senate seat from my racist, homophonic uncle. None of the other senators of course took a high schooler seriously but I didn’t let it get to me. I had just returned to my office to find two members of Project UA waiting for me. Their organization has been hounding my office for weeks now. 

“What do you guys want this time” I asked. 

“The same thing we’ve wanted since we first came to you, young senator” the UA official answered. 

“Senator” I said, “not young senator.” 

“My apologies” he said, “but if you will indulge us we would pitch project UA to you again.” 

“Again with this,” I said “I told you I’m not interested in becoming the Ultimate Politician, I have my people I need to worry about, I can’t just abandon them after becoming there representative.” 

The members of project UA refused to stop hounding me even going so far as to disrespect my staff to my face, accusing them of going against my agenda behind my back. If only that turned out to actually be a false statement. It turned out that my staff had still been taking orders from my uncle, the man who I defeated fair and square. Once I confronted my staff, they went out of their way to tarnish my name as a senator. My title was taken and since my family believed my uncle over me I was disowned. 

My only choice was to join up with project UA and become their Ultimate Politician, a choice that I didn’t think I would end up regretting. When I joined them, it was a week or so before they made their move on the South Park students they had their eyes on. This was the group I was to be trained with and eventually lead in missions to accomplish Project UA’s true objective. Project UA also known as Project Ultimate Army, was a project designed to turn fifteen high school students into influential members of society this was done in order for Project UA to begin phase two of their plan, political, militaristic, social, and economic control of the country. 

I didn’t agree with their ideas but at the time I damned my morals, a regret I would have for the rest of my life. It was the night that UA decided to stop taking no for an answer from the South Park targets, I was placed on the extraction team, I went in grabbed the target and got out nice and easy. At least it was supposed to be however the time spent following the extraction made me hate myself more and more. 

That night, the night of the gas and grab, my target, was the Ultimate Astronaut Craig Tucker. I was ordered to extract him using the gas that had enveloped the town as a cover. To this day Craig doesn’t know that I was responsible for his being forced into project UA. It wasn’t just him either, there was an incident during the extraction and as a result I had to sweep every house and grab all of my soon to be friends. The gas knocked them out completely and they believed they all were brought to headquarters at night in order to not attract any unwanted visitors, mainly the Project’s number one enemy, the Remnants, more commonly known as the Remnants of Despair. They were the people we were supposed to snuff out when we took over but of course that never happened. 

I remember the last time I was in headquarters. We were all there, our last stronghold, the gamma site. The remnants had gotten our other bases and had us on the run. I was called into a meeting with the higher ups and was told that an attack was imminent and it would be one that would either capture or kill us all. The next thing I remember was waking up in my cabin on the ship, along with all of my friends who I’d forgotten thanks to the memory wipe. 

It wasn’t until after Butters’s execution that I began remembering all of this. I put two and two together pretty easily after that, the reason they captured us was because we were at a Project UA facility. None of the others would’ve been there, if I hadn’t extracted, no kidnapped them all that night. If they weren’t there they wouldn’t have had to play this killing game. Yes, the project was compromised by Eric but it was my fault he was there in the first place. 

Wait what was it the director said, it’s been the one memory I haven’t been able to recover, come on Mike think, you’ve remembered everything else, what was it the director said to you in that last meeting before your capture. 

“Project Ultimate Army has been compromised by the Remnants of Despair. Two of their people have managed to get onto the team and have been communicating with their handler in the Remnants. This attack will provide us with a cover in order to exterminate the problem before any more of our intelligence is taken. Mike you must kill Eric and…,” that name, that one name, why can’t I remember it. 

Wait if there were two spies does that mean that two deaths were faked? Eric has been confirmed to be dead, but does the mastermind have another spy working in the shadows? I need to find out to be sure, and I need to tell my friends the truth. At the very least Craig deserves to know the truth and if it results in his despising me for the rest of my days then so be it, I’ve been condemned by my family, my coworkers, even my oldest friends. If they condemned me too it would be an emotion I’m already use to, pain, and despair, I should brace myself for the fallout but for now I need to rest. 

Rest would be the one necessity I did not get that night. I had a nightmare, one I’ve had before but this time it was more traumatizing. This nightmare had me surrounded by all the blackened and the victims, their eyes as soulless as the night and their hands reaching out to me, the same phrase repeated over and over again. 

“You killed me, you killed me, you killed me Mike.” 

I woke up in a cold sweat three times that night, the worse part about it wasn’t the dream itself, it was the fact that, in a way, it was true. I caused all this, I brought them all to UA and as a result they were all captured and now twelve of them are dead. Their blood will forever be on my hands.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Surviving Students: 4


	25. Revealing the Truth: The Beginning of the End

Morning came and it was not a pleasant one, the nightmares I had made me sleep deprived but I couldn’t let that stop me, if we want to discover the mastermind they need to know the truth. I was the last one to enter the cafeteria the three other survivors had been waiting for me. 

“Damn Mike you look like hell” Craig said. 

“It was rough night” I said. “Listen guys I need to talk to you about something.” 

“What’s up” Token asked. I sat down and took a deep breath. 

“My memories have been returning, as I’m sure they have for all you. Well there are some things about UA that you need to know.” They looked me dead in the eye as I spoke to them, “the night you guys were grabbed by the UA people, I was on one of the grabbers.” The three of them were understandably shocked. 

Craig got up from his seat and put his hands on the table, “What?! You were one of the UA goons?!” 

“Yes” I said, “and I know it’s no excuse, but Craig you said you wanted to hear about my tragic past, now you’ll get the chance.” 

Craig sat down and crossed his arms, I knew that whether or not he has pity for my story would determine whether or not we stay allies. Craig knew that I was recruited by UA and that didn’t bother him because he assumed I was kidnapped to, all things considered he’s probably lost any sympathy for me. I told him, Token, and Henrietta all about it. As expected their level of pity for me was very low. 

“I don’t care how bad your past was, the simple fact of the matter is you kidnapped us” Craig said, “do you realize what this means? If it weren’t for you and your goons, we wouldn’t be stuck on this ship! Twelve of our friends wouldn’t be dead!” 

“I didn’t put us on this ship” I shouted back, “The remnants of despair put us on this ship not me! The mastermind is responsible for this killing game Craig!” 

“If we weren’t at that facility, the facility of the organization that you brought us into against our will, we would be at home right living our normal lives” Craig shouted. 

“Mike, you realize now we can’t trust you right” Token asked. “For all we know you could be the mastermind.” 

“I swear to you, I am not the mastermind” I said, “you think I enjoy watching my friends die?!” 

“Well you certainly sent them to their deaths” Craig shouted back, “you’ve cracked every case, Kenny, Heidi, Wendy, Clyde, even Butters and Tweek, you solved all of the cases and put them all together and as a result that fucking bear killed them all!” 

“You can’t solely put that on me” I shouted, “you caught and chased the same contradictions I did during Heidi’s trial, you voted all of the blackened guilty same as I did, and the killing game might not have even started if Kenny didn’t stab Bebe in the back! I know that my actions inadvertently lead to our current situation, you think I don’t feel terrible already?! All of their deaths, blackened ,victim, it doesn’t matter, their blood is on my hands!” 

“Enough” Henrietta shouted, “this pointless shouting is getting us nowhere, look Craig I get why your angry I really do but like Mike said he didn’t want any of this to happen.” 

“You believe him” Craig asked. 

“I do” Henrietta answered, “because the mastermind wouldn’t fall in love with one of his captives. Mike loved Butters we all saw that both throughout the game and the last trial, you can’t fake emotion like that, no one can. Am I mad about all of this, yes, but if we don’t work together and stand united the killing game will just keep going and two of us will die. I don’t want that and I know you don’t want that either Craig.” 

Craig looked at me for a moment, at this point I had been crying for a better part of half of the argument. Craig looked at the floor and then back at me. He walked over to me and punched me in the gut. I had fallen to my knees holding my stomach. 

“Swear to me right now” Craig began, “swear to me you’re not the mastermind right now, and I’ll believe you.” 

I looked up to him, my body still shaking from his punch, “I swear on my life, I’m not the mastermind. That bastard will die and we will escape together, for all those who are gone.” Craig reached out his hand and helped me to my feet. 

“No more secrets alright, anything else you need to say you say it right now” he said. 

“There’s one more thing, a memory I regained last night, we may have more than one enemy” I said. 

They all looked at me, “what do you mean” Token asked. 

“There were two spies that got into the project, three enemies in total if you include Eric and the Remnant” I said. 

“I’m tired of waiting” Craig said, “let’s go, we’re tearing this ship apart, we’re gonna find the mastermind and we’re gonna make him pay and if he’s got another spy that faked his death, we’ll find them too.” 

“Is that right your gonna tear my ship apart are ya” Monokuma said appearing behind us. We put up our guards preparing for whatever shit he has ready for us. “My oh my you know property damage is against the rules, but I may have an alternative solution for you.” 

“What’re you thinking bear” Henrietta asked. 

“I’m thinking we make this interesting. I give you forty eight hours of full access to every part of the ship, no tricks, no locked doors. You investigate every part of the ship to your hearts content. Then after the forty eight hours are up, we’ll have a class trial with the highest stakes yet. You four have to determine the identity of the mastermind. Succeed in this and I’ll give you guys the key to the speedboat in the basement dock, you’ll be free to leave.” 

“What’s the catch” I asked. 

“If you fail to find the mastermind then it’ll be curtains for all of you, a quadruple punishment time” he answered. 

“Should’ve figured” Token commented. 

“Well what do you say kids, you wanna play my game” Monokuma asked. 

We all looked at each other, the offer was a dangerous one undeniably, but if we can discover the truth then will be free, and if not will waste away here anyway. I saw a look of determination and seriousness in all three of them we were all thinking the same thing, it’s do or die and we’re gonna do. 

“Alright Monokuma” I said, “you’re on, will play your little game just be sure you have that key ready when we kick your ass.” 

“I’ll be ready, just prepare yourself for execution when you inevitably fail” Monokuma said. “Your forty eight hours start at midnight, don’t waste any time these forty eight hours might be your last.” Monokuma left the four of us there, midnight, fourteen hours before the biggest investigation yet begins. The final fight, an all-out war between Hope and Despair is about to begin.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Surviving Students: 4


	26. Investigation 6: The War Begins

Five minutes to midnight, five minutes until the most dangerous investigation we’ve ever had to face begins. Everything will be unlocked, labs, rooms, utilities, the entire ship is ours to search. I spoke with Craig earlier and he agreed that we’d cover more ground if we split up sixteen labs so we’d each take eight, while we were doing that Token and Henrietta were going to search the rooms and utilities like the gym and the computer lab. Time was moving slower then it ever has for these five minutes. None of us said a word we were hyper focused on what we had to do. My first priority was Theirs three lab’s I want to look into, I have a theory I need to test. The clock ran down, five, four, three, two, one, midnight struck and the investigation was on. 

We all ran out of the cafeteria and split up, I made a mad dash to where I knew had to go. The one research lab we never were able to access, the lab of the Ultimate ???, Kenny McCormick. I walked in and what I saw was something out of a cult movie. I thought Henrietta’s lab was a little freaky but this was on a whole other level. I began to look around not even knowing where to start but the desk in the back left corner seemed as good as any. There was a briefcase on the desk on it with no lock, guess the mastermind left this for Kenny to find. I opened the box and saw two things I never expected to see, vials of blood, and white resurrection stones. Something about this bothered me so I did a little experiment, I poured some of the blood on the stone and it turned black. This blood is what gave the resurrection stones their power. Next to the desk was a file trunk which contained journals. Somehow, they had writing in them as I kept reading I realized these journals were more telling than anything I’ve seen so far. 

“Thought I’d find you here” Craig said. He scared me I was so focused on the journals I didn’t even hear him come in. “The one lab we couldn’t enter until now, Kenny’s. Find anything good?” 

“Oh yeah, check the desk” I said pointing to the desk. He walked over to the desk, once he realized what they were he turned to me. 

“There’s no way that the mastermind left these here, it’s way too easy” Craig said. 

“Yeah your right, it’s almost as if the mastermind is trying to frame Kenny, make us think he is the crazy fuck doing this to us” Mike said. 

Once I got what I needed I left the lab and headed down to one place where a positive memory lived, Bebe’s research lab Craig tailed behind me. She left me something before she died, whether or not she expected to be killed she was prepared for it. “It’s in the pocket” that was all I had to go one. I was walking down the hall to Bebe’s lab remembering her second murder case. While there were a lot of differences there was one she clearly wanted me to notice. 

What could it have been, think Mike think. Wait, of course she was wearing her new outfit she had made, her old outfit was still in her lab. My walk turned into a run, and I eventually ended up at the door to her lab. Craig and I busted through the door and saw exactly what I was hoping to find, her original outfit on a mannequin. I searched the outfit and found exactly what she left for me. The note said “to Mike” and when I opened it I saw the most crucial piece of evidence. The inside of the note read, “if you die, give this to Mike” it was signed E. The piece of paper Bebe had explained why she was looking up the UA info in the computer lab. 

With the evidence I had, I needed to find the others. I messaged everyone to assemble immediately, with everything I have plus whatever they have found we should be well on our way to uncovering the mastermind and the one spy that is still alive on this ship. The others convened with me at the cafeteria and I had told them what I found. Henrietta found something interesting when she checked out the library. She read that history of hopes peak book and discovered that there were fifty three other killing games before this one. 

“Holy shit, fifty three” Token asked. 

“Yeah most of them didn’t have a lot of information about them but there were three that did, the first two, and the last one” Henrietta said. “What’s interesting is that the mastermind was different in each game and the remnants of despair, the ones that grabbed us and brought us here, only appeared in the second and last game. Each time they were at war with a group called the Future Foundation. The future foundation was responsible for two projects, the gofer project, and the neo world project.” 

“Gofer, based on what the description says it sounds a lot similar to UA” I said. “Government organization takes Ultimate students and keeps them prepped for disaster.” 

“This future foundation, Mike you got any memories about these guys” Craig asked. 

I thought for a minute, was one of the guys in the UA director meeting involved with the future foundation. I looked at the symbol for the future foundation and it suddenly clicked, the symbol on the director’s computer was that symbol. Project UA might’ve been a project for the future foundation just like the Gofer project. 

“That symbol was on the director’s computer” I said “no doubt about it there’s a link between the future foundation and UA.” 

“We need more information on this” Token said. 

“There’s still one place that might have the information we need” Craig said looking at me. I knew exactly what he was talking about, Eric’s lab. 

“We’re going there then next huh” I asked. “If we can find the way into Monokuma’s office through his lab we might be able to get the information we need.” We’re one step closer to the truth, the mastermind is within our grasp. Eric’s lab, the lab of a mastermind’s spy, it has to hold some answers now we just have to find them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Surviving Students: 4


	27. Investigation 6 Part 2: The Gateway to Despair

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AUTHOR NOTE: Hey guys, well here we are the final investigation. You all know what comes next, the final trial. Which is what this note is for. So finals have come full swing here at my college and I want the last trial to be as thrilling as I've been promising. 
> 
> With that in mind, the 6th trial might be delayed a little depending on how I rough my finals schedule ends up being. I'm sure some of you can relate. So my loyal readers, I ask you this, you've stayed with me on this wild ride this long, would you all mind staying a little longer. 
> 
> The 6th trial will definitely be up before December ends probably before Xmas. I'm trying to time it so that the story concludes on the 20th of December (my birthday by the way). So if you wanna keep up to date or keep in touch with how things are going. Follow the Instagram and Tumblr blogs I've set up. I'll be posting updates on both and answering all your questions. The links are below.
> 
> https://www.instagram.com/danganronpasouthstorm/
> 
> https://www.tumblr.com/blog/southparkdanganronpacrossover
> 
> Ok so just to review, chapters will be coming out a little slower now, story will end before December does, hit up the two pages for updates. 
> 
> Ok here we go the final investigation ends, right now.

It’s all hands on deck for Eric’s lab, the four of us needed to investigate this lab and we needed to do it soon. The four of us arrived at the door to his lab and walked right in, what I saw when I entered was a rather pathetic site. Eric’s lab can only be described as a run down New York Hotel room without the bed. It just had a couch, a nearly empty bookshelf, and a kitchenette area that’s completely run down. 

“Jesus Christ it smells awful in here” Craig said, “How did Butters and Tweek last hiding out in here?” 

“His lab is connected to Monokuma’s office” Token said, “they were probably in there from the moment they found it.” 

“Let’s just get this done before we die from the fumes in here” Henrietta said. 

The four of us began searching the lab, nothing of value really to note. The information that Butters and Tweek got is what they gave us at the last trial. 

“So, we know Eric was the spy and that this lab has access to the bear’s office” I began, “now the question is where is the access point?” 

Craig checked the bookshelf he pulled out every book and threw them on the ground. There was one book on the top shelf that he pulled but it didn’t fall down, it just made a click sound and when it did the access point Tweek and Butters used was discovered. The fridge in the kitchenette moved outward and then slid to the right revealing a hole in in the wall. I engaged the flashlight app on our monopad and the four of us walked through the hole, we walked for all of a minute before we ran into a dead end. Craig and I pushed the wall in front of us and with just enough force the wall opened up and we laid eyes on Monokuma’s office for the first time. 

“Not gonna lie I’m kinda underwhelmed” Craig said. 

“Really I’m just whelmed” Token said. 

“Let’s get to searching” I said. It was a small office desk, chair, computer, and a wall sized portrait of Monokuma, figures it’s as big as his ego. 

“Hey I found something on the computer” Craig said. We all gathered around him and saw student files. 

“Henrietta Biggle, Status: Alive, Token Black, Status: Alive, Kyle Broflovski, Status: Dead, killed by Wendy Testaburger, Eric Cartman, Status: Dead, killed by Butters Stotch and Tweek Tucker, Clyde Donovan, Status: Punished, Execution: Strikeout, Execution Successful” I read. The list went on and on but then it got towards the middle and we noticed something interesting. 

“Look at this” I said, “Bebe Stevens, status: Dead, killed by Clyde Donovan.” 

“Wait why isn’t Kenny’s name also on that list, she was killed by both of them” Craig asked. 

“Maybe a typo” I suggested. 

“Maybe” Henrietta said. 

“Hey what’s that icon?” I looked at the icon it read “gateway”. 

“Gateway” Token asked. “Gateway to what?” Craig clicked on the icon and a password box opened up. 

“Passwords huh” I said, “damnit if only Wendy were still alive. Here Craig let me give it a shot.” 

I took Craig’s place in the chair and began typing out obvious guesses. Monokuma, Mastermind, Killing Game, Punishment Time, none of them worked. The others looked through the drawers for anything that might be a clue, luckily, we scored gold. 

“Hey Mike check this out” Craig said. Craig took out a piece of paper that had the word “him” on it. 

“Him” I asked, “who could it be taking about?” 

“One way to find out” Token said. 

He started typing in all the names of all the male participants of the killing game. One named clicked and opened a hidden chamber behind the Monokuma painting. 

“Open sesame” Henrietta said, “What passcode worked Token?” 

“It was Craig” Token answered. I noticed Craig’s eyes widened a little when saw his name being the password. 

“Craig’s name was the password” Henrietta asked, “that’s weird, guess the mastermind has some kind of interest in you.” 

The four of us walked down the hallway and what we entered was something out of a superhero movie. It was a room with a supercomputer as well as a small table with three chairs. Its kind of like the bat cave. 

“Damn nice place” Craig said, “what do you think the mastermind does here?” 

“Probably watches everything we do” I answered pointing to the computers, turns out there were more hidden cameras when we thought. 

“There’s a camera in every bedroom too” Henrietta said. 

“Wait what” Craig asked, his face turning red “oh fuck the mastermind saw Tweek and I going at!” 

“Is that really your primary concern at the moment” Henrietta asked, “we are about to face a life or death situation against a homicidal teddy bear and his puppet master and your concerned with the fact that someone may have saw you banging your husband?” 

Craig didn’t respond, his face was as red as Tweek’s was when Clyde told us all he was a screamer during the third trial. 

“Awkward moments aside, let’s see what else this place has to offer” I said. 

We searched the room and we found some odd items. Along with the computer there was a Monokuma plushie as well as some hair pins. Henrietta walked along the side of the wall and triggered a mechanism that opened another passageway. 

“Where do you think this one leads” Craig asked. 

“One way to find out” I answered. 

The four of us gathered the rest of the evidence we needed and followed the trail. It led to a labyrinth of passages too many for the four of us to search each one. 

“Which way should we go” Token asked. 

“Dealer’s choice” Henrietta said looking at me. I looked around there were about ten different passage ways. 

“That one” I said pointing to the one on the far left. The four of us began walking along the passage way it took us to a ladder with a trapdoor at the top. 

“Ladies first” Token said. Henrietta gave him an indifferent look and began climbing the ladder followed by Craig, then Token, and I climbed up last. The ladder took us to a place that I knew Craig didn’t want to enter. The ladder took us to the lab of the fallen Ultimate Barista Tweek Tucker. 

“Shit” I said, “why did it have to be here.” Craig just stared at the floor, “Craig are you alright?” 

“I’ll be fine” he answered, “let’s just go.” 

As the four of us left Tweek’s lab I turned back and looked at the trap door. What could it mean? There weren’t enough labyrinth paths for every lab to have one. Later that day I went back to check my lab and I had the others check theirs. None of our labs had any trap doors, we used the rest of the time to check the rest of the labs, there were only two other labs with trap doors, Kenny’s lab and Butters’s lab. What does it all mean, the trapdoors, the underground command center, Monokuma’s office, Craig’s name as the password, the white resurrection stones and vials of blood in Kenny’s lab, Bebe’s note, it’s all connected somehow, we just needed to find out how, and we were about to begin. 

The elevator door opened we all looked at each other, hesitated and then entered. One way or another this would be our last elevator ride. We were either going to leave the trial chamber and the ship alive, or we were going to join our friends in the morgue downstairs. 

So many of our friends gone, Bebe, Kenny, Nichole, Heidi, Stan, Kyle, Wendy, Jimmy, Clyde, Eric, Tweek, and Butters. All of them victims to the despair of this killing game, but now we are going to end this once and for all. The mastermind will be defeated, our friends will be avenged, and then will leave this hellhole for good. 

The elevator door opened and we walked into the trial chamber, all of our friends’ portraits, including Butters’s and Tweek’s were there. They may not have made it to the end but they were with us in spirit and somehow, I knew they would help us out. The four of us took our places and Monokuma appeared in his chair. This is it no turning back now we’ve got a job to do and we’re gonna do it even if it kills us. Here we go, good luck my friends, we’re gonna need it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Surviving Students: 4


	28. The Sixth Trial: The Four Warriors of Hope vs. The Master of Despair

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys I know I said I was gonna slow down with the chapters but I just couldn't help myself, therefore I'm pleased to announce that the sixth trial has begun. This chapter may seem short but that's because there's going to be at least two more parts. Also just a heads up, I have every intention to make an announcement at the conclusion of the sixth trial.

“Now then let’s begin with a basic explanation of this special class trial, during this trial you’ll try to figure out who the mastermind is. If you can correctly determine the identity of the mastermind then you win, but if you can’t then you lose and you will all die here” “Alright now let the final class trial begin!”

“This is it guys we need to work together in order to discover the mastermind” I said. 

“How should we start” Craig asked.

“First let’s go over the pieces of evidence we have and begin theorizing how they all connect” Token answered. 

“Sounds good, lets’ do it” Henrietta said. 

“Let’s start with what we found in Kenny’s lab” Craig said, “along with the resurrection stones, we also found journals. 

“Those journals” Henrietta began, “what did they have in them?” 

“Kenny had written in them about his time before the killing game, he must’ve wanted to retain his memory as best he could” Craig answered. Hold on I don’t think that’s exactly what they held.

“No that’s wrong” I said, “Kenny didn’t have information on his time before the killing game, there was much more to it.” 

“What do you mean” Craig asked.

“I read some of the journal entries when we found them and they seemed much more in depth than just memories from before the killing game” I answered, “There were entries about events throughout his entire life. Furthermore, every journal had a similar set of life events, like his birthdays, good days at school, stuff like that, but each journal has the same time frame in them.”

“I’m confused” Token said, “it sounds like every journal has a new life for Kenny, as if he died and started over or something. Is that even possible?”

“Maybe, I want to confirm a theory first” I said. 

“How could Kenny’s journals have similar timelines and talk about the same events in his life” Henrietta asked.

“Could he maybe have had the same events happen annually” Token asked, “like with his birthday or something.” 

“That makes sense to me, it’s not like he could come back from the dead or something right” Craig asked. It seems impossible but with those in his office theirs a chance it makes sense that he might still be alive.

“No that’s wrong” I said, “hang on a second Craig, there’s a chance that he is still alive.” 

“How is that possible” he asked.

“Remember what we saw on the computer in Monokuma’s office” I began, “it didn’t show the first case when Bebe was killed the first time, only the second time when Clyde was executed for her murder.”

“You don’t think” Token started, “the execution that was faked, it was Kenny’s? Is he still alive?” 

“No way, we saw his neck get snapped” Henrietta said, there’s no way that fool is alive.” 

“What about those resurrection stones we found in his lab” Craig asked. “If Kenny is the mastermind, he could’ve gotten his spy to resurrect him plain and simple.” 

“There is still more evidence I would like to discuss before we draw any conclusions” I said. “Let’s talk about those white resurrection stones next.” 

“Those white stones” Craig began, “they had the same shape as the one Henrietta used to bring Bebe back to life.” 

“But if they aren’t the same color, they might not have the same powers” Token said. 

“What about those vials in the briefcase that you guys found” Henrietta asked, “they were full of blood right?” 

“Yeah and when Mike poured some of the blood on the stone, it turned black” Craig said. “In order to make a resurrection stone, you need to pour the blood on the gemstone, that had to be how Monokuma did it the first time.” He’s right my experiment in Kenny’s lab proves that to be the case. 

“I agree” I said. “Craig is right, when I poured the blood onto one of the gemstones in Kenny’s lab it turned black, so whoever’s blood that is, it must be required to make a resurrection stone. The only question now is whose blood that is.” 

“Well it was found in Kenny’s lab, so I’d venture a guess that it’s his” Token said. 

“But would it really be that easy” Craig asked, “someone could be setting Kenny up to be the mastermind.” I don’t know about that, there’s something about the journals that is bothering me. If the journals have similar life events maybe it’s because he’s died before and came back. There’s only one way to find out.

“The blood in Kenny’s lab, whoever it belongs to is the one whose made the resurrection stones” Token said.

“But how did they make the stones, normal blood could be used to make transfusions, but it can’t bring people back from the dead” Henrietta said.

“Unless of course that blood has some kind of special properties” Token said. That’s it, Token must have figured it out as well. 

“I agree with that” I said. “Token I think your right, there’s something about the blood that has the ability to bring people back from the dead, and based off the journal entries I think that its definitely Kenny’s blood.” 

“Are you saying he found a way to survive his execution” Henrietta asked. 

“I think so, and it might have to do with Kenny’s ultimate talent” I answered. “There’s one passage in the journal, that reads, “Damn that old curse of immortality that he brought to this world millennia ago, he’s truly a cruel god indeed.” 

“Immortality” Token shouted, “no way, that’s impossible if immortality is real then how come no one has it?”

“Maybe someone does have it” I answered, “I think I’ve discovered Kenny’s ultimate ability.” No doubt if Kenny has immortality then that must be his talent. 

“Kenny McCormick is the Ultimate Immortal, and he’s still alive right now.” The others were shocked at my theory and Monokuma didn’t respond when I looked at him.

“Mike are you sure” Craig asked, “like Token said there is no case of immortality that has ever reported.”

“Yeah like Craig said” Monokuma began, finally chiming in, “Immortality doesn’t exist, there is no such thing and no way to prove it.” No, I do have evidence to prove it and its evidence that Monokuma gave us himself.

“You are wrong” I said. “There is evidence, and Monokuma provided it.” 

“Did I” Monokuma asked, “and what exactly was that evidence?” 

“All of your punishment times” I answered. The others looked at me confused but I continued nonetheless. “Think about this one guys, what did every punishment time have in common?”

“A dead classmate” Craig asked.

“Besides that,” I said “at the end of every punishment time we saw the blackened’s corpse, all except for one punishment time.” The others quickly realized where I was going in this and were shocked by it.

“Kenny’s body dropped out of view from the screen, we never saw his corpse” Craig shouted. 

“Exactly, and that’s because Kenny didn’t die” I said, “his neck latch detached and he fell but when he hit the ground he just got back up. 

“Do you think he used the labyrinth system to get back to that control room we found” Henrietta asked. 

“If what Mike says is true then it’s a good possibility that Kenny is still onboard this ship” Craig said. 

“Now hold on a minute” Monokuma interrupted, “how can Kenny be alive? There were nine bodies in the morgue before the fifth murder case, at the time there were seven students alive. The four of you, Eric, Butters, and, Craig’s husband Tweek.” Monokuma clearly said that to get to Craig but it didn’t seem to rattle him at least. “How could Kenny be alive if there are nine bodies, well now twelve, in the freezers. 

“There are two options for that one Monokuma” I started, “I didn’t check all of the freezers and while the lights were on for all of them, cooler number two’s light was blinking on and off, therefore it could’ve either not have had a body at all, or Kenny was alive, laying in it and waiting for us to finish investigating the room. Then he simply returned to the control room using the labyrinth. Either way it doesn’t change the fact that Kenny is alive, and I’m gonna prove it right here and right now.” 

“The truth of the case is revealed” I said pointing to Monokuma.

“Let’s begin with the events that ended the first case. Kenny was determined to be the blackened in that case and was punished as a result at least that’s what we were led to believe. In truth when we all saw Kenny’s body drop from the neck latch he was being held on, he landed on the ground alive. How was this possible, simple, Kenny McCormick is the Ultimate Immortal he has the power of immortality that is how he survived. After his faked execution, he used the ship’s labyrinth system to return to the control room. From there he was able to observe the killing game, it was the perfect plan, none of us expected a dead person to be the mastermind of this killing game after all. That is the truth, the truth behind, at the very least, part of the killing game. You’re watching us right now, aren’t you mastermind, also known as the Ultimate Immortal, Kenny McCormick!” 

Monokuma didn’t say anything then laughed his usual laugh, but after that something truly unexpected occurred. 

“Wow! Such a truly unexpected and lovely turn of events” a voice said. The voice was very familiar, it came from Monokuma but I knew damn well who it really was. “Well then guess it’s time for my big entrance!” Kenny’s podium and portrait descended and then a second later, ascended from the ground in a plume of smoke once more. Standing in place of the portrait was the mastermind behind this whole killing game, I was right even though I did not want to be. Standing before us as if returned from the dead was the Ultimate Immortal Kenny McCormick, the mastermind of this killing game. 

“Why am I not surprised that of all people, you were the one to figure it out Mike” Kenny said. “Well you might have discovered part of the truth but I’m afraid this is just beginning, there is so much more to this then you realize.”

“Kenny you son of a bitch you’re going to pay for what you’ve done I promise you” Craig said. 

“Will see about that Craig, this class trial has only begun. Now then let’s see what’s stronger, your hope or my despair!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Surviving Students: 5


	29. The Sixth Trial pt.2- The Revelation of Despair

Kenny McCormick stood before us a grin of pure evil across his face. The four of us stared at him angry, shocked, and confused. How could he be the mastermind if he had his little sister on the outside waiting for him? How could someone who had so much love for another throw him into a killing game? Most importantly how and when did Kenny fall into despair?

“Well then why don’t I begin telling you all the story of how this killing game came to be” Kenny said, “It’s a fun one I promise.” 

“Fine let’s hear it don’t worry will still vote you down either way” Craig said

“Will see about that” Kenny said, “I take you all back to the night before we all woke up in our cabins, what is the last thing you guys remember doing?”

“I was asleep in my room” I answered, “I remember because I had gotten into it with my shitty parents again.” Wait that can’t be right, how can that be I was in the UA site when the remnants kidnapped us. 

“Your face says it all Mike, your memories are conflicting” Kenny said. “Well that’s what happens when you use an untested amnesia program and implant one false memory. That was the higher ups decision, if it was up to me we’d let you keep all your good memories and then see who would still kill for a chance to escape. Wipe their memories they said, make it easier to start the killing game they said. In the end it didn’t even matter, my ass still had to start the damn thing. If it wasn’t for the Monokuma remote battery not being able to last I’d have stayed in the game longer.” 

“Monokuma remote” Token asked. 

“Oh of course that little remote we found in the control room” I said. 

“Bingo, that remote was meant to control Monokuma while my spies and I played the killing game” Kenny said, “but the remote was on the verge of dying so I took out Bebe and got myself executed so I could work from the control room and manually control the bear. Sucks that I couldn’t play the game though, my spies are both dead and now I have to finish it alone.” 

“About your spies Kenny” I began, “who is the other one? We know Eric was one of them and he’s dead, but there were two based on my memories and some of the evidence we found in the control room.” 

“What evidence might that be” he asked.

“The Monokuma plushie and hairpins, they aren’t on you right now so I’d venture a guess that they belonged to your second spy, tell us who that person is” I demanded.

“You’re the know it all you figure it out” Kenny said, “it wouldn’t be any fun if I gave you all of the answers.” 

Think back Mike, think back to all the past cases, all of the evidence and all of our fallen classmates, the details, there has to be something that gave us hints to the second spy. Was there anything in the second case? No Nichole tried to kill for more information but there wasn’t anything there. What about the double murder, did that one leave anything behind? I doubt it, Wendy killed out of jealousy not because of any UA information. Clyde was manipulated by Eric to kill Bebe after we brought her back, but he’s already dead. Wait, Eric’s case, that’s it.

“I have an idea of how we can figure out who the other spy is, but to do that we need to look at the murder of Eric Cartman case again” I said.

“Why that one” Craig asked.

“Trust me Craig” I said, “I have a theory.” I know that looking at that case again would bother him given the outcome but there is something there we need to find I know it.

“The murder case of Eric Cartman” Token began, "he was killed in the machine room down in the basement.”

“The cause of death was blunt force trauma due to the explosion” Henrietta said, “Tweek and Butters turned the fuse box into a bomb and blew him away.” 

“What’s the point of this” Kenny asked, “it doesn’t change the facts of the case. Tweek and Butters killed Eric and were executed for it.” While that may be true, he’s leaving out a very important detail. 

“No that’s wrong” I said. “Your leaving out a very important detail Kenny, and I’m pretty sure you’re doing it intentionally.”

“What might that be” Kenny asked.

“You didn’t know who the killer was remember, you or rather Monokuma joined the class trial to help us figure out who the culprit was because you didn’t even know.” 

“Big deal, so I didn’t know who the killer was at first” Kenny said, “Tweek and Butters confessed to the deed so all is well that ends well.” 

“How did you confirm we were right” I asked, “you went off our theories and my deductions but you had no way of knowing who the killer actually was, the only way you could’ve confirmed that our vote was correct is if you were able to confirm that the confession that Tweek and Butters gave was truthful.” 

“Mike do you realize what your insinuating here” Craig asked. 

“Yes, yes I do Craig” I said with a solemn voice, “but there were two hatches into the labyrinths from their respective labs.” 

“Wait did I miss something here” Token asked, “what is he insinuating Craig?” 

“Mike believes that the second spy was either Tweek or Butters, and that one of their executions was staged” Craig answered.

“Not staged exactly” I said, “we saw them both perish, but considering what we found in Kenny’s lab, death is a rather small matter to overcome here.” 

“The resurrection stones” Henrietta said, “Kenny resurrected the second spy in order to confirm that he indeed was the one who took out Eric.” 

“Kenny there’s something I need to know” I said to him, “all this aside I need to ask you a personal question. You didn’t want to execute Butters did you, the way Monokuma spoke when we announced that it was Punishment time he seemed depressed about this.” 

Kenny’s face turned red with anger, “Mike this isn’t relevant to the trial so back off.” 

“It’s completely relevant, you had feelings for him, real feelings, and you still executed him” I shouted. “How can you stand there and act like all this madness is just a game when you killed the one you loved!”

“Shut up damn it” Kenny shouted, “shut the fuck up or I swear to god I’ll kill you now!”

“No, I won’t” I shouted back, “tell me why you killed him goddamn it, tell me why you killed the most innocent person on this god forsaken boat, Butters only killed because your killing game and your spy drove him to the edge, how can you live with yourself knowing you caused his death in every sense of the word!” 

“I didn’t want to alright” Kenny shouted. The room fell silent, Kenny just made a fatal error, one that I was hoping to catch him in. 

“You didn’t want to” Token asked. “You’re the mastermind, if you change the rules what does it matter?” 

“You're not working alone….are you” I asked. “Now it makes sense.”

“What makes sense” Henrietta said. 

"He’s not the mastermind” I said. Everyone was shocked when I said this. “Kenny the night that Butters had that dream the one where he saw you, that was real wasn’t it you left the control room to go and see him and when he woke up unexpectedly, you told him he was dreaming, all that about how he should move on and find someone else, that was all made up on the spot, seeing us together must have destroyed you didn’t it.” 

Kenny grabbed his podium tightly and gritted his teeth, he and I both were thinking the same thing, he was caught, or rather his boss had inadvertently been caught. 

“Your right Mike” he finally said, “I was really there that night, I had to see him in person, not just through a computer screen.” 

“You're not the mastermind are you Kenny, you’re the second spy” I said. “The mastermind has been watching this entire exchange go down. He’s been watching us through Monokuma this whole time.” 

Kenny didn’t respond at first then he chuckled, “you deduced that already huh, when?”

“When you intentionally left out the part about you not knowing who the killer was, you didn’t do it intentionally, you made a mistake and realized it too late” I answered.

“So, all the way back then huh, I should’ve figured” he said with a smirk on his face. “Well then, I’m guessing you figured out who the mastermind is already, why don’t you enlighten us, enlighten us on his whole scheme.” 

I nodded in agreement, all the pieces had finally made sense, the true mastermind, the one who had a fooled from the beginning, he can’t hide from me any longer.

“The truth of the case is revealed” I said.

“From the very beginning, the true mastermind has been playing us. After Monokuma announced how the killing game was going to work he and his two spies had begun taking the steps to ignite the killing game. I can only deduce the mastermind managed to meet up with his two spies in secret to plan how it would all work. 

Thanks to Kenny’s immortality, the mastermind knew that his death could be faked and that he would be able to control Monokuma once the remote control being used ran out of power. The mastermind gave the order and Kenny began to plot out the murder he would soon commit. His target, the Ultimate Fashionista, was just a crime of opportunity he had every intention on getting caught. At the class trial we easily confirmed he was the killer because he grabbed the knife from the kitchen without being stealthy about it, he was easily caught by Butters. I’d venture a guess that the mastermind was on the cameras and waiting for someone to come to the kitchen, once he caught Butters on the camera he had Kenny move in and grab the knife clearly being caught. Once he was found guilty Monokuma executed him, of course now we know he survived and was the one controlling Monokuma from that point on. 

Meanwhile, Eric and the mastermind continued on in the killing game. Eric went out of his way to make every suspect him and hate him, while the real mastermind went out of his way to make everyone like him. After we discovered the first piece of project UA the mastermind noticed that the info we found was of pure interest to Nichole. He waited for the opportunity to head to the control room, he used the hatch in his lab to do this. He had Kenny make a second motive video after we locked away the ones Monokuma gave us. Once that was done Kenny waited until we were all out of our rooms for the day, slipped the video into Nichole’s room, then sat back to watch the fireworks alongside Eric and the Mastermind. 

He had Kenny do something similar for the third case as well, only this time the Mastermind had Kenny use photographs to jumpstart Wendy’s memory and drive her to jealousy. As a result she fell into despair and committed two murders. That’s when things changed, if I had to guess Kenny was in charge of setting up the motives and watching for a murder, and Eric’s job was to shake suspicion off the mastermind. Assuming that theory is true, when Eric convinced Clyde to kill Bebe, it wasn’t under the mastermind’s orders. 

Eric was hated at this point, if the killing game continued he’d be the next to die. The mastermind took this opportunity to get rid of a liability, Eric was probably going to be killed even if the mastermind won in the end, his going rouge and planning to expose the mastermind just expedited that process. The mastermind selected a patsy, someone to use to get rid of Eric and thereby be executed along with him. That pasty was Butters, the mastermind came up with the murder plot and the two of them carried it out. 

The mastermind had every intention of being caught and executed and manipulated Butters to that mindset as well, that their actions would be justified. Once the job was done and we went to the fifth trial, the culprits were discovered and of course were executed. That as it turns out was the masterminds plan to exit the killing game before he was discovered, he didn’t count on Kenny’s emotions getting the best of him. Kenny used the resurrection stone to revive the mastermind and the two of them went into hiding. Once we discovered the truth about Kenny, the mastermind had him join us here in the trial chamber and hopefully get us to vote him the mastermind. Just like with Butters’s execution however, he didn’t count on Kenny’s emotions getting the better of him.”

“The person behind this whole game, the one responsible for everything, the true mastermind who has been hiding in the shadows since the moment Butters, Kenny, Wendy, Bebe, and I ran into him and his now husband. He went so far as to get married in front of all of us, everything he could to shake suspicion off of him.”

“You're watching us right now aren’t you, The Ultimate Barista Tweek Tucker!” 

I looked at the others they all had different expressions. Kenny had the same face he had when we discovered his crime, Token and Henrietta were unsure about all of this, and Craig had a look of pure anger towards my accusation. 

“You bastard, how dare you” Craig shouted, “how dare you accuse my husband, disgracing the dead is unforgivable. I thought we were on the same side now, we trusted you after what you did with project UA and you go and say that! Henrietta, Token, can you believe this bastard?!” Henrietta and Token looked at each other they weren’t sure what to believe I could see the look of despair on their faces. The room fell silent for a moment. 

“How did we get out of the labyrinth” I asked breaking the silence. Token and Henrietta looked at me shocked. “Think about it, when we climbed out of the labyrinth where did we end up in?” 

“We ended up in Tweek’s lab” Token said. “The hatch in his lab, oh my god, he, he is the mastermind!”

“No, he’s not” Craig shouted, “we all saw him drown in that coffee pot, we all saw him die! I saw my husband die goddamn it! Henrietta you believe me, right?”

Henrietta didn’t respond, she had put the pieces together but she couldn’t believe it nor could she look at Craig. Craig looked back to me, the look on his face said it all, he couldn’t believe it, he couldn’t believe the man that he loved enough to marry was the one who set this all up. Craig looked down at the floor his eyes refusing to meet any of ours, his fists shaking. The room fell silent once again but only for a moment, then a voice we didn’t expect to hear echoed out. It was Monokuma, he hadn’t spoken at all since Kenny’s arrival but now he had finally spoken again, or rather he laughed his usual laugh. He stopped and we never heard his voice again but the next words that came out of the bears mouth were ones I never thought I’d hear again.

“Well then, I guess it’s my turn to join the party” the voice said. The voice of the true mastermind had finally broken his silence. 

Monokuma disappeared into a plume of smoke and in his place stood one of our classmates we assumed had perished. Standing tall in black dress shoes and dress pants, a green button up and a white vest and tie, sporting those Monokuma hair pins we found in the control room and holding the Monokuma plushie was the Ultimate Barista Tweek Tucker appearing before us once again. Craig’s eyes widened as he saw his husband standing before him, he wasn’t the only one, I may have determined who was the mastermind but even I was shocked, all of us were. This wasn’t the same Tweek we’ve come to know, he was completely different.

“So, based on your expressions I’m guessing you didn’t expect this huh” Tweek said. 

“Tweek your, your alive, and you’re really the mastermind” Craig asked.

Tweek started laughing maniacally it was a laugh so evil it reminded me of Wendy’s when she fell into despair, but this was different, Tweek hadn’t fallen into despair, it’s as if he had retained complete control over despair. Tweek crossed his arms made, the hard rock symbol in both of his hands, stuck out his tongue and spoke once more.

“That’s right bitches, the true mastermind is revealed, the Ultimate Barista is no more, behold the Ultimate Despair, Tweek Motherfucking Tucker!”

“Congrats Craig, you figured it out” Tweek started, “now then let’s see if you can keep your promise!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Surviving Students: 6


	30. Chapter 30: The Sixth Trial pt.3 - The Birth of the Ultimate Despair

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We're reaching the end of the line people, it's been a wild ride and I'm glad so many of you have stuck with it, and I know exactly how I am going to thank you all. I believe I mentioned this earlier but I would just like to reiterate that at the end of the fic I will be making a special announcement. So don't forget to read the Chapter Notes from this point onward, they will be both emotional and informative. 
> 
> But you guys didn't come here to read my ramblings, you came to read some crazy Class Trial action. Well ask and ye shall receive. I hope you enjoy.

Craig was crying at this point, whether or not it was tears of joy at the fact that his husband was still alive, or tears of pain at the fact that his husband has been the one responsible for the deaths of our friends and is now our enemy I could not say for sure.

“First things first” Tweek started, “let’s change the scenery a little bit.” Tweek pulled out a remote control and hit the button on it. When he did, the entire trial chamber began to change. The four survivors’ podiums were put next to each other and Tweek and Kenny’s podiums were opposite us. The rest of the fallen classmates’ podiums retracted under the floor leaving only our six podiums. Tweek jumped off of Monokuma’s platform and landed next to Kenny. 

Tweek walked over to Kenny, looked at him, smiled, and then stabbed him with the shiv he’d been hiding in his pocket. Kenny fell to his knee as we all gasped in shock at what Tweek had just done. 

“You got to hide your emotions better Kenny” Tweek said, “Mike toyed with your emotions about Butters and caught you in his trap. 

“Sorry boss” Kenny said holding the side where Tweek struck him. He fell to one knee and chuckled.

“It’s alright, the next killing game will be much easier since it won’t be all of our friends that we watch kill each other” Tweek said. He started laughing maniacally again.

“Tweek, what, what happened to you” Craig asked. “Did, did I do something wrong, am I the reason you did this?!” 

“Oh Craig, don’t take it personally it’s not your fault” Tweek said. “What can I say, despair is so much sexier then you are.” Craig grit his teeth and his sadness turned to anger. 

“Was any of it real, Craig asked, the nights we’ve spent consoling each other when this game became too much for us, the times we made love, even our wedding. Tell me, was any of it real?!”

Tweek scoffed at him before he spoke “nope, none of it, sorry sweetie I used you to make myself seem less suspicious, especially after the evidence that lead to us deducing that there was a mastermind in the first place. None of it was real, so make like a guy who just got dumped and move on.” Those words destroyed Craig he looked at the floor and tears fell from his eyes as he did.

“What was it Tweek” I asked, “What drove you to this?”

“You really wanna know huh” he said, “fine then since you’re so interested I’ll tell you. Tell you the story of the birth of the Ultimate Despair.” Kenny was able to stop the bleeding and took position at his podium just before Tweek spoke.

“It all began the night of the incident Craig told you about on the pool deck the other night Mike. Everything Craig said had happened was true, but there was more to it than what he knows. The true reason behind my parents putting a gun to my head and burned my face with scalding hot coffee. Craig was told that it was because of the project UA recruiting but he was wrong. In truth my parent’s coffee shop was going under, it had been ever since Craig dumped me. My parents blamed me for it all and had been abusing me for years even before Crag and I broke up. The night after I received the UA information was the breaking point. Before Craig arrived my parents and I were arguing and I told them that I was tired of them drugging my coffee and that I’ve known for a while that they had been. That’s when they told me the truth, that I was just an accident that I shouldn’t have been born in the first place, I was just a broken condom baby that my parents couldn’t afford to abort.” Craig’s expression was one of emotional turmoil he was still crying but he had looked up from the floor and was staring wide eyed at Tweek.

“Tweek I, I didn’t know” he said.

Tweek didn’t even acknowledge him, “After the snipers took out my father, I was brought to the hospital to recover from my burns but I was unconscious for a few days and when I woke up I was completely alone, the UA goons walked in and took me to some rehab facility, they left me there and said they’d come back for me once my mind and body were fully recovered.” Tweek looked over to Kenny who had looked back to him.

“That’s where I met Kenny, he was sent there because his family thought he was crazy. That his immortality wasn’t real and he was imagining himself dying and being reborn. His despair came before mine and he had already been in contact with the remnants of despair. One night we broke out of the rehab facility and he took me to the remnant’s hideout. We spent days there, I told them my story and everything that happened and taught me embrace despair and they were right. My life had been nothing but pain same with Kenny’s. We didn’t fall into despair and the remnants didn’t force it on us, we chose it, the world condemned me, so now I’m going to destroy it that was the philosophy I decided to make my own. The Remnants noticed how much despair I had and how easily it grew, they could see it in my eyes. They told me that my indifference to human life and desire for destruction, it created levels of despair that rivaled even that of the original Ultimate Despair. I could never be as powerful as she was but my despair was powerful enough for me to gain the unofficial title The Ultimate Despair.”

“Kenny and I were sent back to the rehab facility and in secret we began to plan out the killing game. While we were planning it, we needed to figure out who we’d make play it. At this point the Ultimates had been revealed publicly and that they were being trained at undisclosed location in order to protect humanity. I knew who you guys were obviously and when I told Kenny this, we both agreed that the best way to throw humanity into despair was to kidnap their newest protectors and have them play a killing game for the entire world to see.” 

“You guys planned an entire killing game from that rehab facility” I asked.

“Well when you’re in rehab, you get some crazy ideas” Tweek answered. 

“You think that’s crazy” Kenny started, “check this out!” 

He looked at Tweek and Tweek gave him malicious grin back. Tweek hit a button on his podium and digital screens appeared all around us. They showed a world map and different parts were highlighted in different colors. North America was highlighted red as were parts of Europe and South America. 

“See the red areas, those represent areas of the globe where this killing game has the most popularity. Notice anything interesting? Our home country of the United States and our neighbor Mexico has the most viewers. People love seeing humanities saviors massacring each other in a high staked killing game, in doing so they’ve embraced the despair and done the damage we’ve wanted them to do for us.”

“What do you mean” Token asked. 

“Observe” Kenny said pointing at the screen. The screens changed from the map to footage of destroyed cities and burning landscapes, what was the most horrifying to see was South Park Colorado, our home, lying in ruins. There was nothing left, nothing at all, nothing for us to go back to.

“South Park has been completely destroyed, along with most of the country. Besides New Jersey and California on the two coasts most of the other states have had massive damage if not total devastation to their cities. The war between the Future Foundation, who kidnapped you guys, and our friends the Remnants of Despair still rages on to this day. Do you understand what this all means? This entire trial is pointless you guys want to escape so badly and return home, well guess what fat chance of that happening now.”

All of us were in shock we couldn’t believe our eyes, had the world really fallen into despair? Was there nothing left to return to? Had hope really lost?

“The Oceans weren’t spared the fallout either I’m afraid, thanks to our positioning we’re safe, but even if you use the speedboat in the dock to leave this place you won’t survive the trip back. Now do you understand, see how pathetically hope has failed? How powerful despair truly is? Face that facts guys there’s nothing left for you out there. Your only choice is to join us in despair or be killed at the hands of the outside world. Now tell me Ultimates what will you choose, I hope you’re ready because this is it!” Tweek looked at the cameras of everyone watching. 

“The time has come, the heart racing excitement as hope and despair finally face off, the final vote is about to begin!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Surviving Students: 6


	31. The Sixth Trial pt.4 – The Final Vote

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AUTHORS NOTE, THIS ONE IS SENTIMENTAL BUT IMPORTANT SO BE SURE TO READ THIS ONE:
> 
> This is it everyone, the final vote has arrived, the class trial ends now. But before it does I just want to say how grateful I am to all of you. You're kind words and continued support is what got us here. 
> 
> I hope that your support will continue in my next South Park crossover fic. We still have one more chapter to go, their will be an epilogue that will be released one week from today on the 20th (which also happens to be my birthday). 
> 
> I was originally going to announce my next fic then but I've decided to announce it now. My next crossover fic will be a crossover between South Park and the Persona series. That fic will start after New Years. 
> 
> Once again I would just like to thank all of you for your continued support, and for all you Persona fans, I'll be seeing you in 2019 and for all of you who are not, do not worry I have something else planned for you. That will be revealed at the end of the epilogue.

To say the four of us where shocked beyond belief would be the understatement of the millennium. Our home was destroyed, our country in ruins, not to mention that we don’t know what happened to our families, all the more reason to leave but. I couldn’t finish my thought before Tweek spoke again.

“Here’s the deal boys and girl, you four will represent hope and Kenny and I will represent despair the vote will work like this, if despair gets voted down, then you guys get the key to the speedboat and are free to leave, however if hope loses then the four of you will die here.”

“Like there’s even anything to consider” I began, “none of us will vote to be killed, we’ve wanted to leave this place from the moment this game began why would we give in and die now!” 

“Well then let me give you some more information about the outside world for you to consider” Tweek began, “All of your families are dead!” The four of us gasped in shock, we couldn’t believe such a cruel lie. “You heard me right, your parents, Tricia Tucker, Black enterprises, and Bradley Biggle have all gone missing and are considered dead, the authorities have given up looking for them, same with Kenny’s sister, and Kyle’s younger brother.” 

We couldn’t believe it, we didn’t want to believe it, but, as I looked at the others their faces showed the one thing I didn’t want to see. The look of despair. 

“Wow, how about that” Tweek said, “you guys were so confident a minute ago and look at you now, the despair has infected each and every one of you.” 

Unfortunately, Tweek was right but it wasn’t just us, Kenny seemed off, sure he had embraced despair, but something about mentioning his sister and Butters’s execution earlier seems to have weakened his resolve. 

“There’s more you should know everyone” Tweek said, “if Hope gets voted down you guys will die; however, it will be a natural death from old age. You’ll spend the rest of your lives here with Kenny and I biding your time here. 

“It’s not a bad deal you know” Kenny said tagging in, we’ve got everything we need here, food, entertainment, and it’s not like anyone else is going to kill to escape now that you all know the truth so why not just stay here.” 

I looked at the others, every one of them was looking at the floor, Craig was down on his knees again after hearing of his sister’s fate and the others were shaking. Not that I was any better my parents weren’t anything special but at the very least I would’ve liked to see them again. 

“What happens if despair gets voted down” Craig asked, “will Tweek be executed before we leave?” The rest of us looked at him, eyes widened at his question. “Kenny’s immortality will save him from any execution but Tweek’s blood isn’t immortal, will he die if despair loses.” 

Tweek started laughing again, “oh man Craig I don’t know if you figured it out or are still worried about me because of your hopeless infatuation, but either way the answer is no. I won’t die, not because the rules are unfair, but because of the other reason why I faked my execution. Well tell me the reason.”

I thought for a minute and then a theory popped into my head that chilled me to the bone. 

“You, you transfused Kenny’s blood into your own” I said.

“Bingo baby” Tweek said, “the political hack got it right again, Kenny isn’t the only immortal anymore, you know what that means no one will die here, everyone will leave this trial chamber alive, where we leave to is a whole different matter.” 

We were torn on what to do, despair or hope, at this point both options were pretty poor. It was the lesser of two evils. Maybe, maybe Hope isn’t the way to go, maybe we should vote it down, I, I don’t know anymore. Then I remembered something that Butters said before he died.

“Will be watching over you with the others” Butters said, “send the mastermind to the gallows and avenge all who have fallen. All of us along with those who have already passed on, in our next lives we will find each other, no matter what it takes, that’s a promise ok.”

It wasn’t just Butters, the others that have fallen, they all wanted to leave this place no matter what. I remember some of the things that they said before they left. Clyde, Nichole, Heidi, Stan and Kyle, all of them wanted to be free for one reason or another, I remember.

I remember Clyde’s parting words. “Goodbye everyone, you guys are the best friends I’ve ever had.” Clyde said.

I remember Nichole’s reason for doing what she did "That’s why I did what I did, I hope you can forgive me, no matter what you think of me now, know that I did this for you, for us, so that we could be free.” That’s what her note said.

I remember, Heidi went out of her way to try and stop us from killing, “Everyone please,” Heidi said raising her voice, we all looked at her. “This isn’t the time to be turning on each other, the simple fact of the matter is this is just a way for Monokuma to get another murder for his crazy game.”  
I remember how happy Stan and Kyle were together, “But the two of us are officially an item now, I told Kyle how I felt yesterday and he told me he felt the same way so, here we are.”

All of our memories, all of our good times, all of our bad, if I gave up now, I wouldn’t be able to face the others, I hardened my resolve and glared at Tweek, the memories of my friends giving me strength. 

“Oh ho, it looks like Mike wants to keep on fighting for hope, well that’s all well and good sweetie but do your friends feel the same way?”   
I didn’t answer I looked at my friends, they were still despair ridden. I knew what I had to do, I had to save them from themselves, I had to save them from despair, because living in despair, is no way to live!

“We won’t give in” I said, “As long as we have hope, we can keep moving forward.”

“If despair falls, that would be the end of this ship.”

Token didn’t say anything, but I knew I had to help him.

“Don’t fall to despair now” I said.

“Mike, I don’t know man, I think it might be better to just stay here” Token said.

“No, it’s not” I shouted, “what would your family think if they knew you gave up, don’t you want to restore your family’s name, you can’t do that from staying here and wasting away. The only way you’re gonna do that is by taking a chance and going back to the states!”

“You’re, you’re right Mike” Token said, “my family name won’t die now, I’m going restore Black enterprises to its former glory, even if it takes the rest of my life!”

“Like I said, the world outside has totally gone to hell” Tweek said, “the only reason we’re safe, is thanks to this ships positioning in the middle of the ocean.”

Henrietta stared at the ground, she couldn’t speak, I had to help her!

“Don’t fall to despair now” I said.

“Our families and friends” Henrietta started, “they’re all gone, there’s nothing left out there, why, why should we even bother going back there?”

“Henrietta” I started, “don’t you think those who didn’t make it deserve to be avenged? We promised Butters that we would avenge him and the others who had fallen, if we go back on our promise now, we’re no better than those two!”

“Right now, I wonder, what would Jimmy think if he were still here” Henrietta started, “I remember something he said to me, sometimes you the best way to find negativity is to laugh it out with a good joke. I couldn’t figure out what he meant at the time, but now, now I know, he meant we should laugh in the face of despair, these two are a joke and so is there pathetic despair, what’re we waiting for let’s shut these despair fueled conformists up once and for all.”

“If despair gets voted down, you’ll earn your freedom as per our agreement, but you most likely won’t survive the trip back to the mainland” Tweek said.

I looked at Craig still on his knees, he would be the most difficult to convince.

“Don’t fall to despair now” I said.

“I, I can’t, how, how could everything be a lie, why, why did he do this” Craig said, he was still on his knees crying, he couldn’t even form a sentence.

“You can still save him” I said, “you promised him that you would not lose, yes him being the mastermind was unexpected, but that doesn’t mean your promise changes, I swore to you that there would be no more secrets, now it’s your turn, swear to me Craig, swear that you’ll save him, despair can be destroyed as long we show him what true hope is!” 

“Mike” Craig started, “your, your right, I’m not giving up, I couldn’t save him that night, but I will save him now, even if it kills me! Tweek listen to me, despair might have taken over you but I will save you! I won’t let everything we had all those years ago be in vain! You may have been lying through your teeth about everything since you and Kenny put us on this boat, but I know that when we were young, before UA, before we broke up, before all of this madness, what we had was real, and I’m not gonna let you give up on that or yourself now!” 

“So, what will you guys do” Tweek asked ignoring Craig’s declaration. “Will you stay here in safety or will you risk your lives on a wasted journey back to a home that has been completely destroyed?” 

I’m not done yet, there’s still someone else that I can save.

“Hope will redeem you!” 

“…Kenny, you haven’t fallen completely to despair have you, the way you reacted when I challenged you about Butters, the lack of resolve you showed when you used Monokuma to execute him. Tell me the truth, you regret it don’t you. Tweek’s despair is stronger but if Craig won’t give up trying to save Tweek, then to honor Butters’s sacrifice I will save you no matter what!” 

“Wha, what’re you talking about Mike” Kenny said, “my resolve has never been stronger, despair is my weapon, despair is my strength, despair is my life force! I can’t be redeemed! I don’t want to be redeemed! I don’t care about that blonde haired fool!” 

“You're lying” I shouted back. “You and I both know that you loved him, you still love him, stop lying to yourself and wake the fuck up! What would Butters say if he was here right now? What would he think if he saw the man he loved, the man who saved his life, helping run the killing game that ended the life of ten of his friends?!"

Kenny looked down at the floor it felt like an eternity went by before he spoke again.

“When Butters died, I fell apart, I killed the man I loved all to keep our killing game alive. I was crying for hours, even as I resurrected Tweek.” Kenny looked at Tweek who refused to meet his eyes, he wasn’t even acknowledging his accomplice’s existence. “There were times during this last investigation that I wanted to just wanted to end it, to end it all, but I can’t. This goddamn curse of mine will keep me from ever seeing him again, I killed him and now I have to live with that fact for the rest of eternity.”

“Ohh boo fucking hoo” Tweek said, “you’re pathetic Kenny. You guys should’ve heard this one the night after Butters died, he cried and apologized to Butters’s teal jacket, like Butters could hear him. Whine, whine, whine, that’s all he did all night!” “The first thing out his mouth after I woke up was “he’s dead” he was crying on my clothes and shoes.” Tweek looked at Kenny and Kenny matched his gaze before speaking again. “Yeah, no shit he’s dead you idiot, he’s fucking dead so stop fucking whining. You’re the one who brought me into the remnants, you helped me planned the killing game, how have you become so weak. Where’s your fucking despair?!”

Kenny didn’t respond, he was crying again, his spirit was clearly broken. If I was going to help him this was my chance to do it.

“Kenny” I started, “you can still do the right thing, you can still do right by him.” 

“How” Kenny asked, “how can I do that, I killed him, I killed him and nine other people, there is no redeeming this filthy murderer.”

“You can start by helping us end this killing game” I answered, “join us Kenny, join us in voting down despair! Butters’s wanted this killing game to end, so help us fulfill his dying wish by ending this madness. Then, then join us when we leave this place, come back to the states with us and help us memorialize our fallen comrades and bring back the world from the despair it’s already fallen into.” 

Tweek laughed at my suggestion, “oh please, you really think Kenny would join you guys? He may be weak but his despair is strong, don’t even bother trying to save him. He’s with me, right Kenny”

Kenny didn’t answer, he remained silent much to Tweek’s dismay. 

“Looks like your number two isn’t so despair fueled as you think” Token said. 

“You’re done Tweek and it’s time to lock in our votes” Henrietta said.

“Tweek, will vote down despair and then I’ll save you” Craig said. 

“Let’s end this” I started, “the heart racing excitement as Hope and Despair finally face off!”

Tweek glared at me gritting his teeth, “that’s my line asshole!”

The four of us said in unison, “It’s voting time!”

Our panels lit up and instead of the sixteen podiums, there were two boxes, one of hope and one of despair. The four of us smiled as we voted for hope, we looked at each other and smiled at the fact that this killing game would finally be over. The voting was complete and the board appeared behind Tweek. 

“Well then let’s see the results” Tweek said shutting his eyes and smiling, he knew full well he was defeated, “majority rules on this one.”

The votes came in and what I hoped would happen came to pass. Despair got voted down. Hope defeated despair in a five to one vote. 

“What the, five to one” Tweek said. He looked at Kenny who smiled with his eyes closed and arms crossed.

“Mike’s right I can do right by him, I can honor Butters memory by doing what he would’ve done. I will have to live with what I’ve done for the rest of my days, but I can take some solace in the fact that no one else will die here.”

Kenny stepped back from his podium and moved to our side, he truly wanted to change I see that now. 

“Well Ultimate Despair Tweek Tucker, you’ve lost, the killing game is over” I said. “What will you do now?” 

Tweek didn’t respond at first, but after a minute he started laughing, it wasn’t your average laugh it was a maniacal one. 

“This, this is the greatest despair of all, the plan Kenny and I spent months on end planning fails right at the end, and more than that my partner and the man who I thought was my only real friend turns his back on me and votes down the despair that he embraced before I did. This is great I’ve got a despair high and I’m never coming down.” 

Craig ran up to Tweek and hugged him hard, “Tweek stop” he said, “just stop it’s over, come back with us, let us help you. I want to spend the rest of my life with you, I still love you, please leave this place, leave despair behind, let’s get married for real, let’s have a life together, let’s restore the world to what it was and end this despair that the remnants threw it into.”

Tweek looked up to him, his eyes twinkled and his smile was big. 

“Craig” he said leaning in kissing him, “you’re such a fool.” Tweek punched him in the gut and Craig dropped to his knees. Tweek jumped up onto Monokuma’s platform and turned back to us before speaking once more. “a deal’s a deal you guys are free to go and considering the way the vote turned out I’m guessing Kenny is going with you. Catch!” Tweek threw a key at me and I caught it with my right hand. “That’s the key to unlock the dock and power up the speed boat, you’ve got one day to get off this ship, if you’re not gone by then, I’ll detonate the engine and sink the ship.”

“Tweek, please, please don’t go” Craig shouted.

“Oh my god will someone shut this love struck spaceman up he’s giving me a headache” Tweek said. 

Kenny put his shoulder on Craig, “come on Craig, we’re done here, there’s nothing you can do while he’s like this. Trust me he’s an immortal now just like me, one of the perks of him transfusing my blood into his. You’ll get another chance someday.” 

Craig made a face of pure frustration, before standing back up. “Tweek let me say this” he said, “I couldn’t save you back then, and I might not be able to save you now, but I will never stop trying to save you. We will see each other again I swear on my life!”

Tweek didn’t respond his back was turned to us at this point. He gave Craig the finger and lowered Monokuma’s podium into the floor, it was the last we saw of him. The rest of the trial chamber transformed back to its normal form and the shutters opened. The elevator opened behind us and we turned to face it. The five of us stared into the empty elevator for a moment, it was hard to believe but relieving that we had made it out alive, and now we were free. 

“Let’s go guys, were finally done here” I said. 

The others nodded and the five of us entered the elevator, as I looked back into the chamber I didn’t just see a place that has been nothing but pure misery to my friends and I. I saw them, the ten who didn’t make it, the ten who fell victim to the killing game. It was only for a second but it was all I needed. The doors closed and the elevator descended. The class trials were over, the backstabbing and betrayal was over, the heartbreak was over, and most importantly, the killing game was over.

“Hey Mike” Kenny said, “thanks for waking me up, but ya know, it’s a little ironic that a game about death ended with all of the survivors including the mastermind making it out alive.”

“Theirs was no other way it would turn out” I said, “your immortal and even if Tweek wasn’t I doubt all those people watching this game would be happy with the mastermind being killed again. After all that Hope’s Peak history book stated that every killing game in the past ended with the mastermind being killed, I’m sure they’d be happy that the ending was different for once.”

“Not to mention Craig would probably kill himself, before he’d let Tweek be executed again knowing this time it’d be permanent” Token said. 

“You’re not wrong” Craig said.

I chuckled, “yeah, maybe it’s for the best that no one else had to die, Tweek may be filled with despair but if he died there would be no way to save him, with his life spared we’ll get another chance to redeem him, and I promise you we’ll all help you save him Craig.” 

“Thanks Mike” Craig said, “thanks for everything” he said his eyes watering again. 

The elevator door opened and the five of us exited to the first floor.

“So now what, should we get on the boat and go” Kenny asked. 

“Not yet” I answered, “there’s still one thing we have to do, let’s go do it.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Surviving Students:.....6


	32. Epilogue: Onward with Hope

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is it everyone, the end is here. Thanks again to everyone who supported me and this work. Stick around to the end, I promised something for all the Danganronpa fans who aren't the biggest fans of Persona. Thank you once again everyone, your support is what got us to the end.

The five of us walked into the kitchen and went straight to the table with the portraits of our fallen friends. We looked at them for a moment, it was hard to believe the sacrifices that they made were finally going to be worth it. Finally, we would be able to avenge them and leave this place for good. 

“It’s hard to believe that it’s all over” Token said.

“Yeah” I said, “now we just need to bring them all home.” 

“It’s gonna be a long ride back” Kenny said, “we’ve got twenty four hours before the ship sinks we should take advantage of what we’ve got. There’s still a lot of food in the kitchen, not to mention we’re going to need extra clothing.”

“Kenny’s right” Craig said “plus I wanna try and look for Tweek, if he’s still on board then maybe I can try and get through to him.”   
“If he’s still on board, I’ll know where to look” Kenny said.

“Then while you two are doing that Henrietta and I will get enough nonperishable food to last” Token said. “What will you do Mike?”  
“I’ll get a suitcase or something to carry our friends in” I answered. 

We all nodded and scattered to take care of what we needed to, I made my way up to my lab, I remember there being a suitcase in it next to the desk. I entered my lab and made my way to the desk, just as I remembered the suitcase laid next to the char. I sat down for a moment and as I did I remembered the time I came in here with Clyde after it was unlocked. He didn’t deserve what happened to him, but the same could be said for all of our friends. 

I grabbed the case and returned to my room to get extra clothing. The first time I woke up in this room I had no idea what kind of madness would await me, what hardships and good times would meet me after opening that door and seeing Butters for the first time. 

I made my way back to the cafeteria to find the four remaining survivors standing around the table on it, were three resurrection stones. 

“What’s this” I asked.

“Craig and I went to check the control room after we tore the ship apart looking for Tweek” Kenny said, these three were all that were left of it, everything else is gone. If I had to guess I’d say Tweek is too.” 

“Mike, we’ve been talking and maybe we should put these to use” Henrietta said.

“You guys want to resurrect some of our classmates” I started, “are you sure that’s a good idea? We’d be bringing them right back into this madness.”  
“Be that as it may we have a chance here” Craig said, “we found these on the ground they were no doubt dropped on accident, we shouldn’t waste this opportunity especially since so many of our friends didn’t deserve to die.”

“But who are we to determine who should get a second chance at life and who should not” Token asked. 

“If we can bring anyone back at all then we should” Henrietta said, “we have the chance so let’s take it.”   
“There’s five of us here” Kenny said, “so we should put it to a vote.”

We all nodded in agreement and proceeded to vote. How the vote turned out, was something that I did not expect. Time passed, only a few hours, but what felt like a lifetime. Kenny, Craig, and I had unlocked the dock and gained access to the speedboat. In hindsight speedboat isn’t the best way to describe it, it was more like a private yacht, a small one but big enough to hold eight of us. 

“Hey guys” Henrietta said walking onto the dock with the things she intended to bring with her. “Where should I put this stuff?”

“There are a bunch of empty rooms below deck, just pick an empty one” I said. 

“That’s everything, we should be set to go” Kenny said. 

“Can you operate this thing” Craig asked. 

“Of course,” Kenny said “it was the original plan if all of you guys couldn’t find a culprit and Tweek, Eric, and I were the last ones on board.”  
“Guys I got the portraits” Token said entering the dock, “this is the last of it all we gotta do now is set sail.”

“Great” I said disembarking and joining Token on the dock. “Looks like we’re all set to go then are the others behind you?” 

“Yep they’re coming down now” Token answered. 

I looked behind him into the doorway of the rest of the ship and called out, “Hey Stan, Kyle, Butters, you guys ready to go?”

Appearing in the doorway were our friends returned from the great beyond, the Ultimate Child Psychologist, the Ultimate Rabbi, and the Ultimate Veterinarian, Stan Marsh, Kyle Broflovski, and Butters Stotch. 

“Yeah let’s get the hell out of this place” Stan said. Kyle and Butters nodded in agreement and the three of them got on board, Token and I followed behind.   
We finished final preparations and Kenny set sail. We sailed through the entryway of the dock and out onto open water. With Kenny at the helm the five of us went onto the front deck and breathed in the ocean air. I looked back behind me to see the cruise ship that had been our prison for the past few weeks one last time. 

“Hard to believe we’re finally free of that place” I said.

“Yeah, I won’t lie there were times I thought we wouldn’t make it out” Token said.

“Hey Mike” Stan began, “how come you guys chose to bring the three of us back?”

“Believe me it wasn’t an easy choice” I started, “but the five of us agreed that you deserved a chance to let your relationship with Kyle flourish, and we brought Butters back because Kenny would never get the chance to face him otherwise.” 

Butters didn’t comment he just stared at the ocean clearly in a deep contemplation about what to do.

“I still can’t believe Tweek was behind all of this and that Kenny was in on it” Kyle said. “I won’t lie I’m having trouble trusting him after all this.” 

“For what it’s worth I understand your reasoning” Craig said, “but he did vote down Despair with us and his reasoning was really noble.” 

“What was his reason” Butters asked.

“You” Craig answered, “he wanted to do right by you since he thought he’d never be able to face you.” 

Butters didn’t respond he just looked down with a somber expression and turned back to the ocean. The rest of us looked at each other not sure how to respond. It was obvious that Butters needed more time to figure everything out. 

“So, what happens now” Stan asked.

“Yeah we’re free so where to” Kyle asked.

“Well the first thing we’re doing is heading home to South Park” I answered, “it may have been destroyed in this war that’s going on, but it was our home and it seems only right that we bring our friends back there.”

“We’ll be walking into a war when we land state side” Craig said.

“I know, but as long as we have each other and we have hope I know we’ll be alright” I said. 

“We were trapped in the middle of the ocean” Token said, “it’s going to be a long journey back.” 

“Yeah your right” I said, “but I’m not concerned, we have each other after all I’m sure we could find a way to pass the time.”

“How long do you think it will take for us to get back” Kyle asked.

I closed my eyes and smiled before looking up to the sky as I answered.

“Oh, probably by the time the author finishes his next story so figure early to mid-spring” 

“Author” Stan said, “Mike what’re you talking about?” 

“Oh nothing, don’t worry about it” I said. 

Kenny joined us on the deck after putting the boat on auto pilot. He and Butters looked at each other for a moment before he looked back to the ocean for a moment before joining us in the center of the deck and leaning up against me. Kenny noticed but couldn’t say anything, he didn’t know what to. 

“We have a long road ahead of us and it won’t be easy to get home” I began, “but as long as we work together, and we have hope, we can do anything. For all of our friends who didn’t make it, for all of those who suffered during this killing game, for our families whose fates are unknown, we won’t give up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Surviving Students: 8
> 
> In case anyone didn't figure out the subtle fourth wall break, this is the official announcement of Danganronpa: South Storm at Sea's sequel. It will start after my Persona fic is complete so figure March or April, May at the latest. See you guys in the New Years, and be sure to leave some comments too.


End file.
